With a focus on Asia, the English-language journal investigates the continually changing trends in the steel industry in-depth, along with a broader look at Asia’s macroeconomic situation and larger trends in steel consumption.

A New Wave Transforms Industry

The focus of the latest Asian Steel Watch is the “Fourth Wave of Manufacturing” – which refers to the integration of industry with the latest in IT technology, including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, the cloud and big data. As in many fields, the steel industry is being transformed by the revolution in information technology, bringing new challenges and new opportunities.

This special section includes four articles in Industry 4.0:

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Winds of Change Are Blowing in the Steel Industry: Summarizes how the latest changed in technology are changing the steel industry, from production to distribution.

Accelerating Digital Transformation with Smart Factory to Unlock New Value: Case of POSCO: When it comes to how Industry 4.0 is changing POSCO, the emphasis is on “smarter.” From sensors to analytics to controls, smart technology is reducing costs and improving output.

China Is Shifting to the “Smart Factory of the World”: China became the world’s largest manufacturing nation in 2010, but today slowing growth is forcing the Middle Kingdom to look for new paths to prosperity. Plans like “Made in China 2025” and “Internet Plus” represent China’s attempts at using the latest technological advances to grow for a new era.

The Rise, Prospects, and Impact of China’s Steel E-Commerce: With so much fierce competition in the Chinese steel market, there is much hope that e-commerce can create new possibilities and efficiencies for manufacturers, as well as distributors and investors.

Additional Topics in This Issue

In addition to the Fourth Wave of Manufacturing, the latest issue of Asian Steel Watch also explores a range of compelling topics affecting the steel industry today.

Ask the Guru: Roads Ahead for the Steel Industry: A fascinating interview with Edwin Basson, director general of worldsteel. Basson talks about the causes of sluggish demand in the steel industry predicted for 2017, China’s peak steel, solutions to overcapacity, the future of the steel industry in Asia, and the influence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the steel industry.

Global Competitiveness Through Hybridization of FINEX and CEM Processes: A special report by Dong Jin Min, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Yonsei University in Korea, about alternative midi-mill ironmaking methods that use hybridization.

The Demographic Cliff: How It Will Impact Asia’s Steel Demand: As societies age, the demand for many key products decline, such as homes and automobiles, even as the demand for services increases. What lessons from Europe and other aging societies can be applied to countries like Korea, which are currently experiencing aging?

Restructuring of the Chinese Steel Industry: Retrospects and Prospects: With China’s steel production perhaps having peaked, this article proposes six directions for the future of the steel industry in China.

Myanmar, the Last Frontier in the ASEAN, Will See High Growth of Its Steel Industry: As Myanmar opens after 54 years of military rule, it is growing and transforming rapidly. With little capacity to manufacture its own steel, Myanmar should see a major rise in steel imports as it grows.

Market Trends and Analysis: Two articles explore the bigger trends affecting the steel industry. The first examines the last 100 years as a “supercycle” for the steel industry. And the second article takes an in-depth look at the latest statistics of the steel industry in Northeast Asia, analyzing how it is changing in Korea, China and Japan.

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting a series of stories about the articles in the latest edition of Asian Steel Watch. Be sure to check back here regularly to get an in-depth look at how the Fourth Wave of Manufacturing is transforming the world of steel, and developments around the world are affecting the Asian steel industry.

Edwin Basson, Director General at worldsteel commented on the launch: “In a world of finite resources we must leave the outdated ‘take, make, consume and dispose’ mentality behind and move toward a circular economy model for optimal resource efficiency. To achieve this we need a life cycle approach that measures the social, economic and environmental impact of a product at each stage in its life cycle. We believe that life cycle thinking must become a key requirement for all manufacturing decisions going forward.”

“The steel industry is an integral part of the circular economy model. A circular economy promotes zero waste, a reduction in the amount of materials used, and encourages the reuse and recycling of materials. These are all fundamental advantages of using steel. Therefore, in a well-structured circular economy, steel has competitive advantages over other materials.”

• Reducing thickness of steel for packaging has positive environmental impact over its life cycle
• Life cycle thinking leads to intelligent automotive material choices
• Using LCA to calculate energy payback for wind turbines
• LCA in the eco-design of office building

If you are interested in life cycle thinking case studies listed above, read more about the ‘Steel in the Circular Economy’ from worldsteel’s online bookshop. There are many more cases of a life cycle thinking approach in the publication!

[box]The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. worldsteel represents approximately 170 steel producers (including 9 of the world’s 10 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members represent around 85% of world steel production.[/box]

The Expert Panelists
One of the best features about the debate was the members of the panelists. The moderator of the event was Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel. Other inspiring panelists included Gordon Irons, Emeritus Professor of Materials Science and Engineering of McMaster University, Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Steel, Karl Koehler, CEO of Tata steel in Europe, Tom Gibson, President and CEO, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), and Julian Allwood, Professor of Engineering and the Environment of University of Cambridge. It was definitely the ultimate members to guide and spark the conversation, right? Let’s find out which topics were covered during the Steel Twitter Debate along with the exclusive panelists!

Is Steel the Competitive Material Choice in a Sustainable World?
As shown in the tweets below, this year’s main topic, brought by Edwin Basson, Director of worldsteel, was centered on sustainability of steel. To each panelist, Edwin Basson asked for more specific insights on steel as a green option to our generation.

What Experts Think of Steel’s Environmental Benefits
Following the given question, the panelists and about 250 professionals engaged in and shared information in this hour-long debate. On behalf of AISI, Tom Gibson informed us that steel has much less Carbon Dioxide emission compared to aluminum, supporting the environmental friendly aspect of steel. Representing JSW Steel, Sajjan Jindal (labeled as WillOfSteel) added “efficient logistics and greater safety” to the idea that steel is sustainable and critical for infrastructure. Also, Professor Gordon Irons expanded the conversation by mentioning the link between energy use and emissions. He stated, “The steel industry has reduced energy intensity and has research for more reduction”. Lastly, Karl Koehler from Tata Steel offered a suggestion that “legislators should adopt whole Life Cycle Assessments”, mentioning the outstanding performance of steel through recycling.

More about Steel’s ‘Green’ Features
So far, POSCO’s globalblog have been frequently discussing about eco-friendly features of steel in various aspects. For instance, we have introduced iron’s irreplaceability, POSCO Green Building, steel technology of the future and more.

At the end of the Twitter debate, worldsteel also shared further insights and facts by stating that the largest steel use happens in the construction sector which is about 51% of the entire use. Also, worldsteel stressed that steel is especially ‘green’ for the construction industry because “unlike wood & plastic, steel does not wear out after 40 years of use”. In fact, worldsteel has recently published a new technical report on energy use in the steel industry. For more details on the report, visit the worldsteel’s media center.

Since this post is only a summary of the debate, search for #steeltalks to view more comments posted at the event. If you have missed this year’s debate, join next year’s worldsteel Twitter debate to share your inspiring ideas for another important vision of the steel industry.