Steel is one of the world’s most important primary materials. Steel is around us in our everyday lives more than any other metal: it is in the buildings we live and work in, the cars we drive, or trains we ride. Its light weight, strength and versatility means it is used in everything from spacerockets to frying pans, suspension bridges to washing machines, satellites to ballpoint pens and disposable razors.  
Steel is not a raw material – it is an alloy composed mostly of iron, with carbon, manganese and tungsten, as well as some other elements, added to the mix.
The fact that steel is not only so widespread, but also so essential to the modern world means that it is used as an indicator of global economic performance.  This means that changes in the steel industry reflect changes in the global economy.
Steel used to be one of Europe and the United States’ major industries.  Whole towns such as Pittsburgh in the USA, Corby in the UK or Bagnoli in Italy based their entire economy, and consequently the well-being of their community, on the industry. Recently, these places have fallen on hard times.

Given the importance of steel, why has this happened?
The answer is simple.  Like so many things in today’s world, the focus for consumption and production of steel has shifted away from the west toward emerging markets – China and India above all.
The economic boom in China and India has caused a massive increase in the demand for steel in recent years: between 2000 and 2005, world steel demand increased by 6%, mostly from these new markets. Yet it is not only demand:  these countries have realised that they do not necessarily have to rely on imported steel, and have consequently developed their own industries. Tata Steel in India and the Shanghai-based Baosteel have become two of the world’s biggest steel companies. In 2005, China was the world’s top producer of steel, with about one-third of the global share, followed by Japan, Russia and the USA.

Some observers have said that in the west, steel is now a “sunset” industry, one facing a slow decline, while in other parts of the world, it is a “sunrise” industry. One important example of this would be the takeover of the former British Steel – now a European company called Corus – by India’s Tata Steel.
Other observers are, however, less sceptical, pointing out that while China certainly has a huge demand for steel, its vast population means that per capita China still uses less steel than Europe of the USA. Western companies are now no longer focussing on expanding their businesses, but rather on concentrating and refining them. Steel is an almost endlessly recyclable material, a fact which has not been lost on the many companies who now specialise in recycling steel. Otherwise, companies are concentrating on improving their product and finding new niche markets, experimenting with new alloys to produce a steel adapted to specific purposes (whether aerospace technology or sharper razor blades).
Most experts, however, agree that the industry is at saturation point. The fact that China now exports steel shows this. The next few years of the steel industry will be interesting:  reorganisation is inevitable – look out for more takeovers and mergers – but more growth is difficult to foresee.