Steel Industry

References

https://www.steel.org/industry-data/reports/

https://blog.boydmetals.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-american-steel-industry

https://sheffieldmetals.com/learning-center/steel-price-update-2021/

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/steel-market-5465

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/steel- production/

Market size and growth rate

• How big is the steel industry and how fast is it growing?
• What does the steel industry's position in the product life cycle reveal about the industry's growth prospects?

Number of rivals

• Is the steel industry fragmented into many small companies or is it concentrated, dominated by a few large companies?
• Is the steel industry consolidating into a fewer number of competitors

Scope of competitive rivalry

• Is the geographic area over which most companies compete local, regional, national, multinational, or global?
• Is having a presence in foreign markets becoming more important to a company's long-term competitive success?

Number of buyers

• Is market demand fragmented among many buyers?
• Do some buyers have bargaining power because they purchase in large volumes?

Degree of product differentiation

• Are the products of rivals becoming more differentiated or less differentiated?
• Are the product of rivals becoming increasingly similar and causing heightened price competition?

Product innovation

• Is the steel industry characterized by rapid product innovation and short product life cycles?
• How important are R&D and product innovation?
• Are there opportunities to overtake key rivals by being first-to-market with next-generation products?

Demand-supply conditions

• Is a surplus of capacity pushing process and profit margins down?
• Is the steel industry overcrowded with competitors?

Pace of technological change

• What role does advancing technology play in the steel industry?
• Are ongoing upgrades of facilities/equipment essential because of rapidly advancing production process technologies?
• Do most industry members have or need strong technological capabilities, and if so, why?

Vertical integration

• Do most competitors operate in only one stage of the steel industry or do some operate in multiple stages?
• Is there any cost or competitive advantage or disadvantage associated with being fully or partially integrated?

Economies of scale

• Is the steek industry characterized by economies of scale in purchasing, manufacturing, advertising, shipping, or other activity?
• Do companies with large-scale operations have an important cost advantage over small-scale firms?

Learning/experience curve effects

• Are certain industry activities characterized by strong learning and experience effects such that unit costs decline as a company's experience in performing the activity builds?
• Do any companies have significant cost advantages because of their leaning/experience in performing particular activities?