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 560 steel products manufacturers in the US produce iron and steel tubes, pipes, wires, and shapes from purchased iron or steel. 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%.
Competition from Alternative Materials
Depending on the application, steel may compete with a variety of alternative materials.
Customer Industries Vulnerable to Economy
Demand for steel products depends on the health of customer industries, many of which can be cyclical and vulnerable to economic conditions.
Industry size & Structure
Steel products manufacturers generally operate out of a single location, employ 97 workers, and generate $49 million annually.
- The steel products manufacturing industry consists of 560 companies that employ about 54,600 workers and generate $27 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 with the top 50 companies accounting 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 Keystone Steel & Wire.
Industry Forecast
Steel Products Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 3, 2022 - Construction Sector Slow to Go Green
- The construction industry – a major market for steel products manufacturers – is far behind the automotive sector when it comes to prioritizing sustainability, according to commodity price reporting agency Fastmarkets. “Green steel” – steel produced without creating CO2 emissions and by using fossil-free energy sources – initiatives have seen considerable uptake across flat products used by automakers, which are using green steel to achieve their net-zero emissions goals. The same can’t be said for construction companies, which haven’t been heard to have pledged to go green, or to have a green strategy, Fastmarkets reports. Unless the government creates legislation which means buyers have to fulfill a quota of green steel each year, construction companies are unlikely to do so.
- US imports of Russian steel have dropped to such a low level that sanctions aren’t necessary, Fastmarkets reported in October 2022. Monthly steel imports from Russia have plummeted since it invaded Ukraine in February to less than 100 tons in July and August – some four to five months after the start of the war and roughly the time it would take to ship from there – versus nearly 112,000 tons in June 2021 and more than 210,000 tons in July 2021, according to US Census Bureau data. Russia had ranked as the fifth-largest exporter of steel into the US, supplying 1.47 million tons of semi-finished and finished products, representing more than 5% of total US imports in 2021, the data showed. US importers of steel from Russia face substantially higher duty rates and shipping problems stemming from the US suspension of normal trade relations with Russia in April.
- The US government in September 2022 announced it will prioritize the purchase of low-carbon construction materials for federal construction projects as part of its Federal Buy Clean Initiative. The “Buy Clean” announcement was made at the Cleveland-Cliffs’ Toledo Direct Reduction plant, which produces hot-briquetted iron (HBI) used in the production of high-quality iron ore feedstock for cleaner steel production. HBI is integrated into steel plate used in a wide variety of products purchased by the government, including automobiles, electricity grid transformers, bridge decks, offshore wind platforms, naval submarines, and train tracks. Speaking for the industry, AISI President and CEO Kevin Dempsey praised the Buy Clean Initiative saying it “recognizes the innovations and advancements being made by American steel producers."
- Unlike previous recessions that ended with a net loss of factory jobs, the unique circumstances of the pandemic-induced recession and recovery have resulted in a net job gain – although not in the sectors or regions typically associated with manufacturing, The New York Times reports. American manufacturers eliminated roughly 1.36 million jobs from February to April of 2020, as the pandemic shut down much of the US economy. As of August 2022, however, manufacturers had added back about 1.43 million jobs, a net gain of 67,000 workers above pre pandemic levels, according to data cited by NYTs. The current resurgence in factory employment is being driven by recovery in industries including pharmaceuticals, craft breweries and ice-cream makers, NYTs reports. Moreover, the newly-created jobs are more apt to be located in the Mountain West and the Southeast than in traditional industrial strongholds of the Great Lakes region.
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