Steel Products Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 480 steel products manufacturers in the US produce iron and steel tubes, pipes, wires, and shapes from purchased iron or steel. Companies specializing in pipes and tubes account for 52% of total industry revenue; rolled steel shape manufacturers account for 24% and steel wire manufacturers account for 24%.
Economically Sensitive Customer Base
Demand for steel products depends on the health of customer industries, many of which are cyclical and vulnerable to economic conditions.
Competition from Alternative Materials
Depending on the application, steel may compete with a variety of alternative materials.
Industry size & Structure
Steel products manufacturers generally operate out of a single location, employ about 125 workers, and generate $66.5 million annually.
- The steel products manufacturing industry comprises 480 companies that employ about 60,000 workers and generate $31.9 billion annually.
- Companies that specialize in pipes and tubes account for 52% of total industry revenue; rolled steel shape manufacturers account for 24% and steel wire manufacturers account for 24%.
- The industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for 62% of sales.
- Some large steel producers are vertically integrated and own and operate downstream processing facilities that manufacture finished steel products.
- Large companies include Precision Castparts, McWane, California Steel Industries, and Liberty Steel & Wire.
Industry Forecast
Steel Products Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 21, 2024 - Falling Prices, Rising Wages
- Producer prices for makers of steel products fell 5.8% in November compared to a year ago after dropping 13.2% in the previous November-versus-November annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Producer prices for makers of steel products have been following a steep downward trend since peaking in May 2022 when increases in the price of steel – driven by inflation, the pandemic, and material shortages in the latter half of 2021-2022 – impacted end users. Employment by steel products manufacturers dipped 0.7% year over year in October, while average wages at primary metals manufacturers rose 2.7% YoY in November to a new high of $29.84 per hour, BLS data show.
- The Steel Manufacturers Association supports tariffs on imports from Mexico and China, as proposed by the incoming Trump administration, but would like to see Trump go further and reimpose tariffs on steel from the UK, the EU, and Japan, The Wall Street Journal reports. Those countries faced duties under the first Trump administration, but President Biden allowed some steel to enter the US without duties. Trump has said he would impose 25% duties on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless they stepped up efforts to curb the flow of narcotics and migrants to the US and has also called for higher tariffs on imports from China. Additional tariffs on imports would give US steel makers more leverage to increase prices by effectively raising prices for foreign products, according to WSJ. Critics note tariffs would raise prices for their customers, including makers of steel products, and US consumers.
- Nonresidential construction spending – a demand driver for construction-related steel products – inched up 0.1% in August supported by ongoing infrastructure investments, Census Bureau data shows. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, US nonresidential spending totaled $1.22 trillion. Spending rose on a monthly basis in 10 of the 16 nonresidential construction subcategories. Private nonresidential spending fell 0.1%, while public nonresidential construction spending rose 0.3% in August. According to Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu, “Public spending accounted for all of the nonresidential segment’s monthly increase and has risen nearly 8% over the past year, significantly outpacing privately financed nonresidential construction activity.” While September’s interest rate cut and the prospect of more to come are expected to spur construction activity, construction experts say it will take several quarters for financing terms and project planning to catch up to the new environment.
- The Steel Manufacturers Association, along with six steel industry organizations, is urging Congress to enact a package of legislation to level the playing field with China. China's monthly trade surplus reached a record $99 billion in June, prompting concern among its trading partners that a glut of Chinese-made goods would harm their own industrial output and economies, The New York Times reports. China’s trade surplus with the US rose to nearly $32 billion in June from $29 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, China’s imports shrank as Chinese companies and households took a more cautious approach to spending. As Chinese consumers pull back, China is looking to international markets to keep factories humming. Governments in the US, the EU, Brazil, India, and elsewhere are responding by raising tariffs or imposing new ones on manufactured goods from China. Factories in China already make almost a third of the world’s manufactured goods.
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