The International Steel Trade

Peter M. Fish
135 Pages
This book provides a basic guide to the iron and steel industry and the trading mechanisms involved in this vital business. It starts with a look at the origins of steel and its manufacture and gives an outline of the principal steel grades in simple terms. It then goes on to look at production and consumption with reference to their commercial and economic significance. The author analyses the global trade in steel and illustrates the importance of steels to the metals industry as alloying elements and coatings. The final section of the book looks at the future for steel, the changing patterns in trade, environmental considerations and the threat of substitutes to the industry.

It should prove invaluable for financial analysts and personnel who need to understand the industry as a whole and also for metals professionals as an illustration of the wider economic implications of the product. The book will provide an ideal reference for executives responsible for purchasing steel products. It will also be of immense benefit to personnel in companies supplying the steel industry with raw materials, production services and consumable goods.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Background and Origins of Steel

What is steel?

Importance of steel
A world without steel
Origins and development of steel

Chapter 2: Properties and Applications of Steel

Unalloyed steels

Stainless steels and heat-resisting steels
Ally steels

Chapter 3: Steel Products and Manufacturing Process

Ironmaking

Steelmaking
Pouring and teeming
Hot rolling
Other hot forming processes
Cold working
Surface coating

Chapter 4: Production of Iron and Steel

Crude steel production
Iron production
Trends in iron and steel manufacture
Continuous casting

Chapter 5: Steelmaking Raw Materials

Iron ore production

World trade in iron ore
Types of iron ore
Iron ore pricing
Scrap consumption
Scrap trade
Types of scrap
Scrap prices

Chapter 6: Steel consumption

Apparent consumption of finished steel

Apparent consumption of crude steel
Apparent consumption per capita
Consumption of steel products

Chapter 7: Patterns of Trade in Steel

Exports of steel

Imports of steel
Trade flows
Geographical distribution of trade
Main traded products
Economics of steel trade

Chapter 8: Steel Pricing

Selling mechanism

Pricing mechanism
World price trends
Prices in major consuming markets
Market price comparisons

Chapter 9: Commercial and Economic Significance of Steel

Infrastructure

Industrial development
Economic development
Raw materials
Energy
The environment
Metals
Manufacturing costs
Evolution of crude steel production
Steel producers

Chapter 10: Future Trends

Steel demands

Geographical distribution of consumption
Geographical distribution of production
Steel products
New products
Production processes
Location of steel plants
Environmental considerations
Prices
Substitution threats
Corporate changes

About the Author

In 1979, Peter Fish, Ceng, MIMechE, MIEE, MICE, formed the management consultancy company, MEPS. In 1985, he founded the private limited company MEPS (Europe) Ltd. which provides consultancy services to the steel and related industries. The company operates as steel industry analysts producing reports and publications on the world steel industry.

Prior to forming the consultancy companies he was Production Director at the UK special steels manufacturing company. He is currently the Editor of two monthly publications: European Steel Review and World Steel Outlook. He has compiled a number of multi-client studies inlcuding World Crude Steel Production to 2000, East European Steel, Coated Steels and Materials in the Automobile of the Future.