The costs of producing steel have declined substantially from building a conventional hot-rolled steel mill down to the new minimill technology that requires only scrap metal, an electric furnace, and 300 workers rather than iron ore raw materials, enormous blast furnaces, rolling mills, reheating furnaces, and thousands of workers.

Which of the following forces in Porter’s Five Forces framework would suggest that this technology decrease potential industry profitability?

The threat of substitutes

The threat of entry

The intensity of rivalrous tactics

The power of suppliers

The power of buyers