Source International Iron and Steel Institute.

The steel coming out these days is very hard.

Consumption of finished steel is smaller than production of crude steel due to losses in production of finished products (the discarded material is recycled).

And there's more plastics produced and consumed around the world on a volume basis every year than steel.

The annual demand for steel bars in Tanzania has reached 1.83 million tons, but the quality of locally produced steel bars cannot fulfill the requirements of large buildings such as high rise buildings and bridges, so the country imports 70 percent of steel bars,

In 2004, production crossed the threshold of 1.0 billion tonnes for the first time ever (see figure 1).

Figure 1. World production of crude steel 1997 2004, million metric tons

However, several other developing countries, mainly medium or high income ones, have been able to build steel industries that are competitive on world markets and export significant quantities of steel products.

Crude steel production in the first four months of 2005 increased by 7 per cent compared to the same period in 2004.

This permits relatively high profit margins to be earned by most steel companies.

An increase in the stock price of steel manufacturers suggests an increase in the demand for steel, which induces entrepreneurs to start more steel plants and investors to provide them with the money. Conversely, a decrease in the stock price of steel manufacturers leads entrepreneurs to liquidate existing plants and dissuades investors from committing more resources to the sector.

During the same period, crude steel production increased by 260 Mt., indicating that the excess has been reduced.

Wire drawn products and seamless pipes are also part of the long steel products group.

Experts called for the creation of a global steel agreement or a global steel accord to steady and guide the steel industry.

Alloyed steels, which are sometimes also called special steels and may be considered specialty products, contain small portions of alloying elements such as chromium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, silicon, tungsten or vanadium.

World steel production has been increasing since 1994, and since 2001 the rate of growth has accelerated.

Approximately half of world steel production enters international trade.

Experts noted that the world steel industry was currently enjoying a boom period, with very high prices for all steel products and hence in spite of high input prices record profits.

Steel and related specialty products

(iii) Steel and related specialty products

The same year, the share of imports in Chinese steel use also reached a maximum, at 18.5 per cent.

However, since steel trade consists of trade in a large number of different steel products, the global figure may considerably understate the impact of Chinese exports and, particularly, imports on individual markets.

A few years ago, Ansteel Group (Weibo) began by adjusting its product mix, and gave priority to developing high end steel plates such as those for containers, railroad tracks, shipbuilding, and civilian home appliances. However, sales of these product categories fell significantly. In particular, the sales volume of steel plates for shipbuilding plunged 50 year on year.

Table 6 summarizes the main parameters and shows how China has emerged as the major force on both the production and consumption side of the industry.

The world steel industry remains highly fragmented, with the 10 largest producers (by size in 2003 Arcelor, Mittal Steel, Nippon Steel, JFE, POSCO, Shanghai Baosteel, US Steel, Corus Group, Nucor, and ThyssenKrupp) accounting for just 30 per cent of total world production.

TP12 Highly corrosive to steel.

It sends out what's called a MIDI signal or a Musical Instrument Digital Interface through these wires into the box and then the computer, which then trigger high quality piano samples like this.

Higher freight rates of course also affected the competitiveness of those steel producers that mainly depend on export markets.

Table 1. Steel's good years versus bad years

Others are experimenting with efforts to raise productivity and quality in the area of forest products.

The rapid growth in Chinese steel production has not only caused great turbulence on the world steel and raw materials markets, but has also made major demands on the country's power and transport system.

Currently, the most severe problem confronting Chinese authorities is overcapacity. For example, China s annual production capacity for crude steel is one billion tons, but its total output in 2012 was 720 million tons a capacity utilization rate of 72 .

The official pointed out that the CPC Central Committee and State Council should attach great importance to the global problem of iron and steel overcapacity.

Because these materials could actually absorb six to 12 times as much energy per pound as steel, and do so a lot more smoothly.

You remember we used to make steel in Pittsburgh?

A great' year is a year of premium prices (higher than the US price) for steel in the world steel export market.

It was recognized that the world steel economy was currently in a boom period and could look forward to a period of high growth in demand and relatively high prices.

Decelerator rigs and wires, we use them a lot.

Other relatively dynamic steel product groups include Iron and Steel in its Primary Form (SITC position 672) with growth of 5.7 per cent, and Steel, Steel Universal, Plate and Sheet (SITC position 674), with growth of 5.0 per centTable 2.

A flat steel product is a plate product or a (hot or cold) rolled strip product.

During the Cold War, the West used hard power to deter Soviet aggression, while it used soft power to erode faith in Communism behind the iron curtain. That was smart power.

Experts observed that steel subsidies served to maintain high cost capacity that would otherwise be eliminated through the process of international competition.

The British Steel Pension Scheme has liabilities of 15bn and a deficit of as much as 700m by some measures, making it a serious obstacle for a rescue deal for Tata Steel UK and the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.

GM crops also have significant economic benefits. Higher yields and lower production costs have reduced global commodity prices (corn, soybeans, and derivatives), resulting in higher farm income, enhanced supplies of food and feed products, and more readily available high quality calories.

In addition to the OECD countries, the Group includes other countries and territories, which together account for about 95 per cent of world crude steel production.