US STEEL MARKET
OVERVIEW
The steel industry is vital to the economic competitiveness of the United States. Steel market is expected to escalate during the forecasting period 2021-2027. Steel serves as the backbone to automobiles, bridges, buildings, railroads and machinery and is an important component for national defence industry.
US is the third largest steel producer in the world, with nearly 5.4% share in the world crude steel production, as well as one of the leading steel consumers. The industry has benefitted from soaring steel demand in the automotive, construction and oil & gas sectors. Additionally, the cost effective and highly efficient steel making technologies have worked as a catalyst and uplifted the US steel demand in the market.
Steel is primarily produced using one of two methods: Blast Furnace or Electric Arc Furnace. The blast furnace is the first step in producing steel from iron oxides. The first blast furnaces appeared in the 14th century and produced one ton per day.
The first electric arc furnaces (EAFs) appeared in the late 19th Century. The use of EAFs has expanded and now accounts for nearly 2/3 of steel production in the United States. The EAF is different from the blast furnace as it produces steel by using an electrical current to melt scrap steel and/or direct reduced iron. The EAF uses scrap steel and electricity to produce molten steel.
Based on preliminary census bureau data, the AISI reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1888000 net tons of steel in February 2021, including 1424000 net tons of finished steel. In the week ending on April 3, 2021, domestic raw steel production was 1766000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 77.9%. The current week production represents a 15.7% increase compared to last year, according to AISI industry reports.
IMPACT OF COVID-19
Steel prices were played with three-year lows during much of the second half of 2019 before four rounds of price hikes reversed that trend. The construction and automotive sectors, the two major buyers in the US steel market, account for almost three-quarters of domestic steel consumption, according to American iron and steel institute (AISI) data. Construction accounts for 44% of steel shipments, according to AISI.
From August to September 2020, U.S. imports of steel decreased by 2.6%. After a peak steel prices in Q3 2018, U.S. domestic prices for hot rolled band increased from $572 per metric ton in June 2020 to around $789 in November and were up to about 39.2% from one year earlier. Cold rolled coil prices increased from $759 per metric ton in June to $973 in November.
POST PANDEMIC MARKET VALUE
According to data from world steel association reported that, for the month of January 2021, U.S. steel mills shipped 7,420,816 net tons which is a 5.3 percent increase from the 7,049,785 net tons shipped in the previous month, December 2020, and a 13.1 percent decrease from the 8,535,755 net tons shipped in January 2020.U.S. steel production was 6.1 million metric tons in September 2020, up 9.9% from August. September 2020 production was done 12.3% compared to September 2019 production level.
US STEEL MARKET SEGMENTATION
Based On Type
- Crude Steel
- Finished Steel (Flat, Long Speciality Products)
- Scrap Steel
Based On Material
- Steel alloy
- Carbon Steel
- Stainless Steel
Based On Process
- Cold Rolled / Hot Rolled
- Direct Rolled
- Tubes
Based On End User Industry
- Automotive Industry
- Infrastructure and Construction Industry
- Mining and Earth moving Equipment
- Aviation & Marine Industry
- Electronic Industry
- Oil & Gas Industry
US STEEL MARKET DYNAMICS
The increase in the global automobile production is a major factor leading to the growth of the high strength steel market across the globe. The use of high strength steels for manufacturing body panels of automobiles increases their fuel efficiency by reducing their weight by approximately 60%. This, in turn, contributes to the growing demand for high strength steels from the automotive industry. The increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles across the globe is also expected to contribute towards the growth of the high strength steel market during the forecast period.
The construction industry across the globe is also witnessing growth in the commercial and residential sectors. Factors such as improved employment opportunities, increased per capita income of masses, and adoption of luxurious lifestyle by the middle-class population are expected to drive the growth of the construction industry across the globe. This leads to the increased demand for high strength steels from the construction industry as high strength steels ensure reduced product thickness, enable improved toughness of products at low temperatures, and ensure their high-yield strengths. Moreover, these steels also have outstanding weldability.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The U.S. steel industry produced a projected 91 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, a 12 percent slump from the 2019 production value which was over 100 billion, with about 51 companies operating in the raw steel production market in the country. One of the largest steel producers in the United States is the North-Carolina-based Nucor Corporation. In the 2020 financial year, the steel producer recorded some 20 billion in revenue. In a global comparison of crude steel producers, Nucor was ranked fourteenth in 2020, producing around 25.49 million metric tons of crude steel. Other companies developing new technologies and lightweight steels as per the industry requirement to gain the demand in forecasting period 2021-2027 and reaching green steel production.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTING COMPANIES
Key suppliers of steel products in U.S. suppliers of Steel Stock and Formed steel shapes are:
- Sabre Steel Inc: offers cold and hot rolled steel products in flat roll form, also supplies galvanized and electro-galvanized coated steels and have high carbon grade steels too.
- A-1 Alloys: provided abrasion resistant and impact resistant steels, high temperature and corrosion resistant.
- Eastern Steel Corp.: provides standard steel forms including bars, plates, grating, tubing, and angle shapes.
- Zeeco Metals Inc: provides hot and cold rolled steel products and hot dipped and electro galvanized metals.
The top five steel stocks in US
