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Steel Industry Profile

Steel Reports
	Steel Industry Analysis Brief ITP, in partnership with the Energy Information Administration, has created an Industry Brief that captures information on the economics, energy use, technologies, and management activities that affect the steel industry
	Energy and Environmental Profile of the Steel Industry This informative report from August, 2000 provides an overview of the U.S. steel industry, including market trends, energy and material consumption, and environmental performance (PDF 581 KB) Download Adobe Reader

The steel industry is critical to the U.S. economy. Steel is the material of choice for many elements of construction, transportation, manufacturing, and a variety of consumer products. Traditionally valued for its strength, steel has also become the most recycled material, with two-thirds of U.S. steel now produced from scrap.

Economic

The steel industry works in partnership with ITP to boost energy efficiency and cut production costs.

The U.S. steel industry is a more than $50 billion enterprise, and additional downstream processing pushes the value closer to $75 billion. The industry accounts for nearly 10% of the global raw steel market, providing over 107 million net tons in 2003. Large quantities of low-cost imports have challenged the industry in recent years, but restructuring, downsizing, and widespread implementation of new technologies have led to vastly improved labor productivity, energy efficiency, and yield.

Geography

As a result of industry consolidation, the number of steelmaking facilities has decreased significantly over the last few decades. As of 2002, 90 companies were producing raw steel at almost 140 locations. The absolute number of integrated mills producing steel in basic oxygen furnaces has always been relatively small and is currently at around 20. The highest geographic concentration of mills is in the Great Lakes region, including Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York. Approximately 80% of U.S. steelmaking capacity is in these states. The industry employs more than 100,000 people nationwide.

Markets

The U.S. steel industry is vital to both economic competitiveness and national security. Steel is the backbone of bridges, skyscrapers, railroads, automobiles, and appliances. More than 3,000 catalogue grades of steel are currently available, not including custom grades for specific users. Most grades of steel in use today - particularly high-strength steels that are lighter and more versatile - were not available ten years ago.

Energy

Nickel Aluminide Transfer Rolls allow non-stop processing and reduce energy costs 33%. See Successes.

The U.S. iron and steel industry relies heavily on coal and natural gas for fuel, and is one of the largest energy consumers in the manufacturing sector. In 1998 the industry used approximately 2 quads of energy, representing approximately 7% of all U.S. manufacturing energy use and 2% of domestic energy use. The industry has made significant improvements in energy efficiency over the last decades, reducing energy use per unit of output by over 45% since 1975. Additionally, the industry has made steel the most recycled material in North America, with an overall recycling rate of 67%.