Until a few years ago the steel industry was considered mature, and the moniker was accurate. Global steel demand grew more slowly than did the world’s population. In much of the developed world, demand for steel was stagnant after having gone through a long period of decline. Since 1998, however, the steel industry seems to have re-ignited its growth engine and kicked into a new gear. The industry has been growing at 6% annually and most analysts see strong growth continuing for a decade or more. What explains the steel industry’s reemergence and can it continue?
Read the rest of this entry »
Lots of people involved in the steel industry have access to steel pricing information to follow trends in the industry or to drive their own steel selling or buying decisions. There are at least seven well-known publishers of steel prices. Their steel industry experts survey steel buyers and sellers, analyze the data, and come up with a market price. But beware taking these prices at face value. If you take a close look at the prices and compare the prices supplied by different companies, you may be surprised. And now that pricing systems are being developed to support price discovery in the exchanges launching steel futures, we ask ourselves what these prices really mean, what specific products they are referring to and how accurate they are.
Read the rest of this entry »
A senior steel industry manager who had just been offered a promotion to head office was reflecting on his choice. Looking for guidance, he asked a colleague for advice. ‘Just add value,’ was the terse reply. His implication of course was that corporate ‘overhead’ usually doesn’t. His deeper implication was that real value is only added in the operating units. In the new world of the steel industry, that bias could be costing steel companies growth and performance.
Steel industry employees have long been suspicious of corporate headquarters - with good reason.
Read the rest of this entry »
