Case Study 2 – ‘Will the steel companies develop global strategies?’

Over the past 14 years, Martinrea has evolved from a tiny subsidiary of Royal Laser Tech Corporation into a worldwide leader in its field. To benchmark the company’s performance, Martinrea’s financials will be compared to those of Magna Inc. (TSX:MGA) and Linamar Inc. (TSX:LNR) throughout the report. These companies are both direct competitors in the Canadian automotive manufacturing space, with Magna being the largest Canadian auto-manufacturing company, and Linamar being a highly-diversified manufacturer with revenues similar to Martinrea’s.

By 1900 the US was the largest producer while also being the lowest cost producer, and demand for steel seemed never-ending. Output had more than tripled since 1890, but customers, rather than the producers, mostly benefited. New technology encouraged faster

The main problem for the company is to facing the high scrap rate and quality of the product. Another reason is the machine breakdowns, every time the machines stopped and restarted will make scraps out from the machines. Last reason is to produce new product will cause high

This report discusses the challenges that The Nucor Corporation faces during this era of social and economic climate change. Using Porter's Five Forces Analysis and Four Generic Strategies, we will assess the steel industry standards as it relates to the strategies implemented by the Nucor Corporation. We will also assess what Nucor’s strengths and weaknesses are, and if they will be able to continue

Even in spite of the economic recession in 1991, Nucor still appeared to be one of the fastest growing steel companies in America, even considering the spending levels regarding disposable income among Americans. This is especially true since September 11, attacks, because economic levels in America have tended to exhibit a slight disability. After the attacks on 9-11 markets, as well as the overall financial climate of the United States took on immediate hits. Yet, after President Bush’s tax cuts made in 2002, the country rebounded from a mild recession which dated back to the Clinton administration and has since sought to recover. The steel industry worldwide was mired in one of its most unprofitable periods ever when 9-11 hit. The recovery from the recession, as well as an attempt to pull through current financial hard times due to the war in Iraq have added extra strains on Americans and their ability to spend, which in turn affects the steel industry.

Over the years Nucor emerged as a market leader in the American steel producing industry due to its sustainable growth strategies and incorporation of sophisticated technologies that enables the company to grow exponential and become a market leader by offering high quality steel products at lower costs. The company backed its growth strategies by massive integration in the American market. However, this growth strategy proved to be predominant in capturing the American market thus ignoring the potential competitive threats that could come from foreign steel producers. This included both steel producers integrating with American minimills and foreign producers who used America as a lucrative export market and dumped their products.

3. Please apply Porter’s Five Forces model to the steel industry. While doing so, clearly identify who is behind each force – for instance Suppliers, Buyers, Substitutes, Competitors, etc. And what is the impact of each force on the profitability of the industry – in terms of the following levels - High/Medium/Low. At the end, also provide a summary of all the five forces and propose whether you think the steel industry is attractive industry or not an attractive industry.

As mentioned in the case the main problem is the excess of steel in the steel market. Right now foreign steel is being dumped in the US. This results that supply exceeds demand which results off course in decreases of profit for many steel companies. This gives a lot of pressure to the companies and most of them are not able to survive the pressure and

Long the pride of Peoria, Illinois, Caterpillar, Inc. has established itself as a premier global manufacturing powerhouse whose commercial construction, transportation and engine solutions have come to symbolize durability, quality, and economic progress. This project paper examines the operational and financial numbers resulting from the company’s global sales reach. This paper reviews the publically available corporate financial results for the last decade. This financial data review will be expanded to incorporate how operating and investing activities and results have also impact the Caterpillar bottom line. The paper will conclude with a short summary analysis providing team conclusions to whether the Caterpillar

1. Brief description of the context and of the decision which has to be made.

Following the general recessionary trend of the market, Lehigh Steel reported record losses in 1991 after posting record profits in 1988. This had led to an increasing need to rationalizing Lehigh Steel’s product mix.

As non-European companies raised the standard of competition, the prices likewise fell and the market for many European products collapsed. This directly affected the employment rate throughout Europe in many of the industries, as many jobs were no longer needed. As this need declined, labor began to demand the retention of jobs, wages, and benefits, making labor more costly (Drouin,12). The unemployment rate in Europe went from 4-5% in the 1950-60s to 10-12% during the 1970-80s (Dr. Shearer - lecture). For example, after World War II the mining workforce in the UK fell from 718,000 to 43,000, with the majority of the jobs lost during 1975-85 (Judt, 459). The steel industry also suffered. As non-European countries entered the market, the European steel industry collapsed. For example, British steelworkers lost 166,000 jobs between 1974-1986 (Judt, 459). As unemployment increased throughout Western Europe, there was a movement towards the service sector.

Later, many Third World countries such as Brazil built their own steel industries and large U.S. steelmakers faced increased competition from smaller, nonunion mills. The U.S. produced about half of the world's steel in 1945; by 1991 it was the third largest producer, with only 11% of the world market, behind the former Soviet Union and Japan. Since the 1970s, growing competition and the increasing availability of alternative materials, such as plastic, slowed steel industry growth; employment in the United States steel industry dropped from 2.5 million in 1974 to 1.6 million in 1991. Global production stood at 736 million tons in1991, down from 786million tons in 1988 (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 1993).

According to Michael Porter, “Every industry has an underlying structure, or a set of fundamental economic and technical characteristics, that give rise to these competitive forces” (Porter 1998:23). The forces mentioned above are: industry rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of buyers. Additionally, Porter mentioned that: “Knowledge of these underlying sources of competitive pressure provides the groundwork for a strategic agenda or action” (Porter 1998:22).

IV.3. Role of Government ........................................................................................... 29 V. Performance of the Indian Steel Industry ............................................................ 30 V.1. Production of Steel ............................................................................................... 30 V.2. Steel Producers In India ...................................................................................... 32 V.3. Export and Import Of Steel ................................................................................ 33 VI. Industry Analysis36 VI.1. Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model