However, steel production in China has expanded even faster, pushing down prices in Southeast Asia and threatening regional competitiveness. In response, many governments are increasing trade barriers, as they look to protect their individual steel industries from a glut of competition.

Market Trends

From 2009 to 2014, the six leading countries of Southeast Asia—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—increased their production of hot-rolled steel products by 12.6 percent to reach 27.5 million tonnes per year.

However, the growing economies around the region meant that steel demand increased even faster. Over the same period, apparent steel consumption leapt 56.9 percent to 65.9 million tonnes. The difference was made up by imports, which nearly doubled to 46.4 million tonnes from 24.3 million tonnes.

Despite an economic slowdown affecting much of the world, the International Monetary Fund is predicting further growth for the region, expecting steel consumption to rise to 80 million tonnes by 2020.

To fill that gap, the major steel-producing economies of Korea, Japan and China have increased their exports. POSCO opened Krakatau POSCO, the first integrated steelworks in the region, in 2013, and now has production facilities and service centers in Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand. As of 2014, steel companies from Korea, Japan and China comprised 80 percent of all imports to those six Southeast Asian countries.

In particular, China is making major inroads in the region, especially as its domestic economy slows and companies look to make up the difference abroad. In 2009, China comprised 12 percent of steel imports to those six Southeast Asian countries, but by 2014 that share had climbed to 42 percent.

The oversupply of steel can be seen in prices. Chinese hot-rolled coil cost $429 per tonne in early 2015, but that price fell to just $270 per tonne by October. Japanese hot-rolled coil similarly fell from $480 per tonne to $307 over the same period.

Rising Protectionism

With international steel supplies up and prices falling, Southeast Asian countries are responding by protecting their markets.

Trade barriers being enacted around the region include traditional protectionist measures (like tariffs, anti-dumping regulations and safeguards), technical barriers to trade (or TBTs) and non-tariff barriers to trade (like “Buy National” campaigns). For example, Indonesia enacted a “New Trade Law” in February 2014 that enabled the government to restrict imports of certain goods, including steel.

Anti-dumping (AD) duties and safeguard actions are especially on the rise. Over just 2013-2014, the six Southeast Asian countries took 33 anti-dumping measures, as opposed to 52 AD measures in the previous 18 years. Malaysia and Vietnam, which never took any AD measures from 1995 to 2012, took seven and four AD actions respectively from 2013-2014.

TBTs on steel imports are also tightening around the region. Indonesia requires certificates of approval to import hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated, galvanized steel and long products, and the list is growing. Thailand, too, has made its approval process more complicated for certain imports, and Malaysia requires certificates of approval for certain steel products.

Finally, “Buy National” policies are common around the region. Indonesia changed its National Procurement Law to mandate government-procured products contain at least 40 percent domestic raw materials, while Malaysia and Brunei offer special benefits to government bodies for procuring domestic goods and services.

Uniting the Region

At the end of 2015, 10 countries in the region came together to form the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), intending it to grow into an Asian version of the European Union. Containing 620 million people and a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion, the AEC has four major goals:11o build a single market and production base,

1. To become a highly competitive region,

2. To achieve equitable economic development, and

3. To fully integrate the region with the global economy.

4. Analysts believe that the AEC, while bringing the region closer together economically, may further strengthen protectionism against countries and companies from outside the region.

In light of these trends around Southeast Asia, experts say outside companies need to be cautious when investing in this region, and partnerships and joint ventures with local steelmakers are recommended. But with investments going on in the steel industry in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam and Indonesia, soon domestic production could be on the rise, too, replacing many of the imports.

Oversaturation is always a risk, but, given the growth potential of this market, Southeast Asia is still considered a good region for investing. However, care is highly recommended, as the competitiveness of the steel market around the region is expected to rise, especially with the further development of the AEC.

Related Link:

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Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

China is rapidly catching up with Korea in major manufacturing sectors, including automobiles, steel, and smartphones and Japan’s price competitiveness has improved thanks to Abenomics and the weak yen. The Korean government and companies agree that manufacturing is in crisis. This is a serious concern because manufacturing still accounts for the lion’s share of Korea’s economy.

Korea’s Rapid Growth

After the share of manufacturing in Korea’s GDP surpassed 20 percent in the 1990s, it continued to rise to 29 percent in 2014. Korea has the largest share of manufacturing in GDP among OECD member countries, and the second largest share in the world after China.

Even more impressive is the manufacturing sector’s contribution to economic growth. It had reached 29.8 percent by the 1980s and rose steadily each year until it reached an average of 43.9 percent from 2010 to 2014. Given that its share of GDP is 29%, manufacturing’s contribution to economic growth is substantial and its effect on economic growth is high. In terms of operating profit margin by industry, manufacturing is 1.5 times higher than the service sector.

Korea’s Potential Crisis

Now, the all-important manufacturing sector is facing three major challenges. First, slow global economic growth is persisting, and oversupply in major manufacturing sectors is worsening. Korea highly depends on the global economy, with an export-to-GDP ratio of nearly 50%.

The second challenge is the fact that Korea is sandwiched between China and Japan. Bolstered by the weak yen, Japan’s export competitiveness has increased significantly, and China is rapidly catching up with Korea in terms of technology. In 2014, China had 1,431 export items that were global best-sellers, while Korea had only 63 such items.

It’s evident that Korea’s manufacturing competitiveness is on a downward slope and has been for some time. According to the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Korea slipped to fifth place in manufacturing competitiveness in 2013, from third place in 2010, and is expected to slide to sixth place in 2018.

The third challenge for Korea is that its manufacturing sector has limited differentiation strategies and no new growth engines. The competitive industrial performance (CIP) index, released by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, placed Korea eleven places higher than China in 2000, but only three places higher in 2011. As it stands now, Korea is only 1.9 years ahead of China in scientific and technological competitiveness.

Five Year Plan

In order to stimulate the manufacturing industry, Korea must first encourage a culture that values manufacturing, a creative workforce, and innovative technology that will lead the future of Korea’s manufacturing progress. These three elements are the basis of a manufacturing powerhouse.

To this end, the Korean government has announced the “Five-year plan for Development of Companies of Middle Standing (2015~2019)” with the aim of nurturing 5,000 medium sized enterprises and 100 hidden champions by 2019.

Next, Korea should nurture a creative workforce and make the most of its talent. As it stands, Korea’s human resource capability is low relative to the size of its economy. This is an important task for Korea because in the 21^st Century one person’s innovation is more important than any product or service. For instance, startups, such as Facebook and YouTube, employ more than 5 million people. To take the lead in creating innovative technology Korea must develop a system to find, nurture, and utilize creative talents.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Backed by a culture that values manufacturing, a creative workforce, and innovative technology, Korea should instigate a new manufacturing revolution. If Korea plays its cards right it will enter the fourth industrial revolution, which will open a new chapter in manufacturing.

The fourth industrial revolution will be led by intelligent factories that integrate traditional industries with ICT (Information and Communications Technology). These factories will be operated by a two-way communication system between production facilities and products built on a single platform to optimize all production processes.

Smartification is also rapidly gaining ground at industrial sites, such as POSCO’s smart plate factory at Gwangyang Steelworks. In order for Korea’s manufacturing to survive global competition and grow sustainably, it should strive for manufacturing innovation through smart factories, and add value to existing products and services.

Korea’s manufacturing sector may be facing a crisis, but it has the ability to come out on top. According to the report by Dr. Park, Korea boasts strong manufacturing competitiveness, prowess as an IT powerhouse, and world-class ICT infrastructure. With such advantages, Korea should actively embrace the future of manufacturing and implement innovation strategies tailored to its manufacturing.

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Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

The use of lithium is soaring. It’s gone from 70,000 tons in 2002 to 170,000 tons in 2014, and some estimate that could grow to 470,000 tons by 2025. And with that surging demand, POSCO has identified lithium as a major product for the company’s future business growth.

“POSCO is accelerating the lithium material industry after lithium was selected as the new growth business that will lead the future of the company,” said CEO Ohjoon Kwon when he became the head of POSCO in 2014. “If steel is the ‘rice’ of the current industry, lithium will take on that role in the future.”

What Is Lithium?

For such a common element, most people don’t know a lot about lithium. The soft, silver-white metal is the third element on the periodic table, making it the lightest metal and least-dense solid element. It is found commonly around the Earth, but because it is highly reactive, it is rarely found in a pure, elemental form, and instead is present in very low concentrations in sea water, in rock in the Earth’s crust (especially granite), and in brines and salt lakes.

Importantly, lithium is also very energy-dense—in fact, it has twice the energy density of the next closest alternative—making it a great option for portable energy storage applications.

Lithium, however, is quite difficult to extract. In the past, it was gathered on large salt farms, and required months for the water to evaporate, leaving lithium salts behind. But in 2010, POSCO (with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) developed a high-efficiency technique for extracting lithium from water. Instead of a large and slow evaporation process, POSCO uses a chemical reaction to extract the lithium more quickly. It also increased its extraction capabilities to 200 tons per year.

Now POSCO is expanding its lithium processing even more, opening a cutting-edge lithium processing plant at Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina this year. Built high in the Argentine mountains, some 4,000 meters above sea level, the new plant had a groundbreaking ceremony on February 14, and once operational later this year it will boost POSCO’s annual lithium production to 2,500 tons.

Lithium in IT Gadgets

Lithium is a key element in lithium-ion batteries, which power many of our most popular devices, including mobile phones and laptops. Lithium-ion batteries can generate a 3 volt charge in each cell, much more than lead-acid and zinc-carbon cells, meaning it can provide more power more efficiently.

For portable devices, like mobile phones, size and weight are at a premium, so being able to contain more power means being able to create smaller and more useful mobile gadgets. Lithium-ion batteries are also commonly used in portable power tools, like drills, saws and lawn trimmers.

In addition to the success of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, regular lithium batteries are also in high demand, often used in such devices as pacemakers, cameras and watches.

Lithium for a Green Future

Beyond gadgets, lithium-ion batteries are a big part of the future of green energy. Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources are important, but you still need an energy storage device to store that power between peaks and valleys.

In particular, they are at the heart of the latest developments in electric cars, like the very popular Tesla cars. And as an electric car usually requires around 40 kilograms of lithium for its lithium-ion battery, that adds up quickly. In fact, Goldman Sachs estimates that the amount of lithium needed for electric car batteries will go up 11-fold over the next nine years.

But the eco-friendly applications don’t stop with cars. Motorcycles, large-scale residential facilities and industrial facilities are all increasingly using lithium-ion batteries, too.

POSCO Leads the Way Toward a Lithium Future

“With the supply of electric cars and the development of smart grid technology, the market is expected to result in massive growth,” noted CEO Kwon. “In order to raise competitiveness of the domestic secondary cell industry, it is crucial to develop lithium resources along with localizing core material.”

Pozuelos Lake, where POSCO is building its new processing facility, covers 106 square kilometers, and has an estimated 1.5 million tons of lithium reserves. That’s enough for millions of large-scale lithium-ion cells, which is good news for the environment and our planet.

As a result, in December of the same year, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that China formally entered an era of xin chang tai. In English, the term translates to “new normal” or “a new state of normality.” His statement acknowledged the nation’s slowing growth and addressed the need to create a growth structure centered on investment and innovation.

China’s “new normal” is about transitioning to this new way of growth. Changes in the country’s economic fundamentals, including the “new normal” market environment, also apply to the Chinese steel industry. As a result, the industry, too, is searching for new solutions.

Shifting Gears

Over the past few decades, the Chinese economy grew at unprecedented rates, which caused a variety of problems both domestically and internationally. Rapid growth was accompanied by adverse effects, such as regional and socioeconomic inequality, environmental pollution, abuse of natural resources and overcapacity.

In the “new normal” era, China aims to address current economic and social issues while seeking growth through innovation. To achieve this goal, Xi Jinping created a five step “new normal” plan.

The first step is to adopt new technologies and business models to increase the utilization of private capital and the diversification of investment sources. The second step is to satisfy a broad spectrum of consumer demands. The third is to focus on high-tech industries to attract foreign capital. The fourth is to reinforce quality-based market competition structures. And finally, according to the five-point plan, there will be a strong emphasis on conserving resources and protecting the environment.

The Three Lows

The “new normal” era signals a major economical shift for China. The far reaching changes in the nation’s economic fundamentals are characterized by “three lows.”

The first low involves China’s steel production and consumption. Both of these areas are facing low growth, and an early peak is considered to be fast approaching, according to experts. The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) estimates that the country’s crude steel production recorded negative growth in 2015 for the first time since 2000.

Second, steel prices have been declining steadily, due to oversupply related to overcapacity, intensified price competition and pressure from the excess supply of iron ore. China’s crude steel production led the global “raw materials super cycle” in the 2000s, but its slowdown is gradually freezing demand for iron ore.

Third, China’s steel industry is transitioning from a period of low profit to a period of zero margins. The industry’s pretax profit margin was as high as 8 percent in 2007, but the figure has barely remained above zero in recent years, recording 0.04 percent in 2012, 0.48 percent in 2013 and 0.85 percent in 2014.

Transforming China

In the new era, China’s steel industry aims to overcome crises through four major strategies. First, steel companies are actively building overseas production bases and seeking export markets to relieve domestic oversupply. Second, steel companies are pursuing survival through integration that transcends ownership schemes and regional borders.

Companies are also fostering non-steel businesses to make up for the faltering steel market. CISA estimates that China’s steel industry derived over 90 percent of its gross profit from non-steel businesses in 2013 and 2014.

Finally, the steel industry is improving profitability through advanced technology and improved product quality. Additionally, it is increasing brand power, upgrading operation technologies and making drastic changes to business models.

Developing these areas is important because, according to experts, the competitiveness of the steel industry now depends on advanced operation technologies, brand innovation and IT services more than ever.

The Future of Steel in China

A CISA representative forecasted massive transformations in China’s steel industry. Two of the major projected changes expected to occur in the next five to ten years are increased exports and entry into overseas markets. These signs of change are already visible, as the Chinese government recently opened the doors of its steel industry to foreign capital.

Exports have soared due to the depressed domestic steel market, and government policies to move steel facilities overseas are being put into effect. Experts agree that this move will have a positive impact on China’s steel industry.

The Chinese steel market is expected to expand further, as steel companies are predicted to double their efforts to increase exports and enter overseas markets. The opening of the nation’s steel industry will no doubt bring about changes for the global steel market, especially considering that China makes up half of it.

Related Link:

In Southeast Asia, Surging Imports Lead to Rising Trade Barriers

The Future of Manufacturing in Korea

The Evolution of the Steel Production Process

The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity

POSRI Releases First Edition of Bi-Annual English Journal “Asian Steel Watch”

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

Iron Age

During the Iron Age, semi-solid steel, produced by simply reducing iron ore, was forged to create farm implements and weapons. It was not until the mid-14th century that liquid iron was extracted directly from iron ore. This became possible because high temperatures were reached with furnace bellows operated by waterwheels.

For over 3,000 years, until replaced by steel after 1870, iron formed the material basis of human civilization in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Industrial Revolution in England

In the late 18th century, during the Industrial Revolution in England, the invention of the steam engine by James Watt enabled the blasting of air into the blast furnace with a machine. This made the mass production of iron possible.

While the iron making process had been centered on the coke blast furnace for 300 years, the steel production process has made leaps and bounds in the past 160 years.

Around this time, the S-Martin open hearth furnace appeared. Though it required an external heat source and its productivity was relatively low, it permitted a wide range of iron resources and allowed easy control of the temperature and composition of molten steel.

The S-Martin open hearth furnace became the predominant method of producing liquid steel for about a century, until the appearance of basic oxygen steelmaking in the 1950s.

Basic Oxygen Steelmaking in the 1950s

Basic oxygen steelmaking and continuous casting processes developed in the early 1950s are considered the most innovative technologies in the history of the steel industry. The two processes replaced the open hearth furnace and the slabbing and blooming process in integrated steel mills.

The integrated steel mills have many advantages such as high productivity, cost competitiveness and the ability to produce a wide range of high-quality steel products. However, they require large-scale facility groups with complex process configurations across a large land area. Other disadvantages include the generation of large quantities of environmental pollutants from the use of fossil fuels.

In the late 1980s, major global steel companies and research institutes led research and development activities to address the disadvantages of basic oxygen steelmaking in integrated steel mills. The focus was placed on developing new processes to replace the existing blast furnace in iron making.

POSCO’s FINEX technology

FINEX technology is one such new development. POSCO began researching FINEX technology in 1992, and successfully launched a pilot plant with an annual production capacity of 600,000 tons in 2003. At present, two FINEX facilities are in operation at POSCO Pohang Steelworks. One plant, launched in 2007, has an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons, and the other, opened in 2014, has an annual capacity of 2 million tons.

POSCO also plans to build another FINEX technology facility soon, but this time it will be located outside of Korea. POSCO recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Iran to build a FINEX technology steel mill in the Middle East country.

FINEX combines the iron making processes of sintering, coke making and blast furnace into one process. It allows the direct use of low-grade fine ore and coal without preliminary processing. This process dramatically reduces the generation of air pollutants such as SOx, NOx and dust.

The changing environment of the global steel industry

The attention of global steel companies is now focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adjusting to the stricter global regulations on air pollution. These regulations are expected to expedite the restructuring of steel production facilities.

As a result, environment-friendly and innovative iron making technologies are expected to become commercialized soon. This would enable the use of low-grade raw materials across the globe. With the development and expanded utilization of new clean energy sources, steel production will depend increasingly on the utilization of economically produced steel, such as Direct Reduced Iron.

The future direction of the steel production process

According to the report, the steel production processes of the global steel industry are expected to move in three directions. First, large-scale seaside integrated steel works will continue to be highly competitive. Second, the expected increase in steel scrap availability and low-cost production of Direct Reduced Iron will increase the economic feasibility of procuring iron resources.

Third, inland regions in China, India and other large continent countries who are at a geographical disadvantage are expected to build simplified, compact, environment-friendly alternatives to outdated blast furnaces.

The three steel production processes are expected to coexist to produce low-grade raw materials and secure a smooth supply of steel products in inland regions where demand is forecasted to grow. This is expected to bring balanced and continuous growth for the global steel industry.

The steel industry has evolved and developed throughout history and thanks to the superior characteristics of steel materials and economic mass production it will continue to be an integral part of our lives for many more millennia to come.

Related Link:

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Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

Now some experts claim that the steel industry cannot avoid a long-term recession without resolving the issue of global steel overcapacity. As a result, overcapacity has become a hotly debated and contentious issue.

Calculating Overcapacity

One of the major difficulties in determining the level of overcapacity is the calculation process. The report states that to calculate the extent of overcapacity, an accurate measure of capacity is necessary. However, the common method of calculating overcapacity by using nominal capacity is likely to yield exaggerated figures. This happens because it is physically impossible for plants to operate year-round at 100% nominal capacity, due to various issues such as raw materials supply, facilities maintenance, and the existence of outdated facilities.

Nominal Overcapacity Rate Relative to Steel Demand

The only way to accurately calculate capacity at the highest possible operation rate, known as effective capacity, is by investigating every single steel plant around the world. As you can imagine, this type of study is practically impossible. However, we are getting closer to a more accurate study.

Effective Capacity

In recent years, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has perfected its method of quantifying the effective capacity of member states. The OECD bases maximum production on peak market condition during a certain period. The market condition is estimated with consideration to factors such as steel production, price, and profitability.

Using effective capacity to estimate the maximum possible production of steelmakers yields a smaller magnitude of overcapacity. The introduction of effective capacity measurement can potentially dispel worries about overcapacity causing stagnation or recession in the steel market.

Steel Prices and Overcapacity Rate

From 2008 to 2014, global nominal overcapacity increased steadily in size, but demand also grew. According to the report, the degree of nominal overcapacity relative to demand size fluctuated, following the peaks and valleys of steel prices. These findings support the argument that stresses the importance of effective capacity and disregards nominal capacity as a meaningless figure. Hence, some experts refer to overcapacity as a myth because we have yet to learn the exact magnitude of overcapacity and its impact.

Despite this idea of myth and exaggeration, overcapacity is considered the most challenging issue for today’s global steel industry. For this reason, relieving overcapacity remains an urgent issue and it requires the attention and efforts of the global steel industry.

The Reality of Overcapacity

Dr. Rod Beddows, author of Steel 2050, published in 2014, pointed out that “While efforts to reduce capacity are important, the continuous growth of steel demand is essential in lowering overcapacity rates.” One of the biggest concerns in the steel sector today is the future of Chinese demand and supply. But according to Dr. Beddows, we don’t have to worry because Chinese steel demand has not peaked yet. He claimed “There are still over 300 million Chinese requiring industrialization and urbanization. The housing and general building stock needs replacement.” And of course all of this development involves steel products.

Dr. Beddows admits that “Current overcapacity in China is large,” but he stated that “growth plus Xi Jinping’s new policy initiatives for China’s infrastructure and manufacturing will lead to its rapid decline, and by 2017-2018 supply and demand should be in balance.”

Meanwhile, the report states that investment in infrastructure and the growth of the manufacturing sectors in emerging countries such as India and the Middle East is important in creating steel demand, and might offset China’s declining steel demand in the future. However, the global economy has not shown clear momentum for recovery since the financial crisis, and concerns are mounting over a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Overcoming Overcapacity

No matter how you look at it, overcapacity is a problem and a recurring one at that. Dr. Beddows claimed that “The only way to manage this problem is to create a level playing field in terms of ownership, by eliminating state ownership, and trade in the industry. Regulation in general is also of increasing importance.”

Dr. Beddows suggested ways that the industry can remove state ownership. He said, “Price risk hedging mechanisms and improved service levels to customers are the two most important issues for the industry. I recommend that organizations such as World Steel Dynamics focus on these to help the industry improve.”

So it seems that overcapacity is becoming a reality, but the situation is not as dire as many think. It is possible to overcome the challenge of overcapacity if the Steel industry works in unison to reduce unnecessary excess capacity.

Related Link:

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Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

To analyze and explain the role of steel in the world, POSRI (POSCO Research Institute) has created Asian Steel Watch, a bi-annual journal that features content focused on the Asian steel industry.

This new journal is published in English and will cover current issues, as well as market forecasts and analysis. It is published by POSRI, which provides research-based consulting services for the steel industry.

POSRI, a subsidiary of POSCO, investigates the current economic issues and industries related to steel, making it the perfect organization to publish an informative and interesting journal about steel.

Asian Steel Watch provides in-depth analysis of the ever-changing trends in supply and demand and imports and exports, as well as the prices of steel products. It will also offer a broad analysis and insight into Asia’s macroeconomic environment and the trends in key Asian steel-consuming industries.

Ohjoon Kwon, President of POSCO, has big plans for this new publication, noting, “Asian Steel Watch will provide useful information that will guide governments and enterprises through current issues in the Asian steel market, including oversupply, customs duties, antidumping measures and environmental regulations.”

The steel industry supports each country’s manufacturing sector and overall economy. In order to maintain a stable economy, it’s essential to have access to timely information and analysis about the steel industry.

President Kwon stated, “At a time when information is power, Asian Steel Watch provides a firm foundation for the collaborative growth of Asia’s steel industry, further contributing to the stability and prosperity of the global steel market.”

Coming Up

In the first edition of POSRI’s Asian Steel Watch, a number of interesting stories, from “The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity” to “China’s Steel Industry Meets the New Normal” were covered.

Some of the subjects explored in the bi-annual journal will be featured on The Steel Wire over the next few months.

The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity: Overcapacity has long been blamed as the main cause of the recession in the steel industry (especially the price decline), but this claim has not yet been backed by enough systematic analysis. Through an expert Q&A with Dr. Rod Beddows we’ll answer the most common questions regarding overcapacity.

The Evolution of the Steel Production Process: The steel industry has continued to grow thanks to the superior characteristics of steel materials and economic mass production. We’ll discuss how mankind first began making steel using charcoal during the Iron Age, as well as how the steel production process has developed since then.

China’s Steel Industry Meets the New Normal: China’s economy maintained a double-digit annual growth rate for decades, and then slowed to around 7% in 2012. Chinese authorities have described this as the “new normal” state. Now China’s steel industry is aiming to find a new way of growth.

Korea’s Next Big Manufacturing Leap: Innovation Based on Culture, Creative Workforce, and Technology: Concerns are mounting over Korea’s manufacturing sector. Growth continues to taper, and profits keep falling. This is due largely to the sluggish global economy, which is struggling to recover, and to Korea being nudged out by its rivals, China and Japan.

Increased Trade Barriers in Southeast Asia Following a Rapid Rise in Steel Imports: Many Southeast Asian countries have concerns over surging Chinese steel imports and the subsequent loss of competitiveness of their steel industries. Amid an ongoing supply glut in the global steel industry, Southeast Asia has become a major destination for excess steel products from China.

Related Link:

In Southeast Asia, Surging Imports Lead to Rising Trade Barriers

The Future of Manufacturing in Korea

China’s Era of New Normal and its Implications on the Steel Industry

The Evolution of the Steel Production Process

The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.