Steel Industry Essay examples

2. What were the weaknesses of each of the following methods of stabilizing the industry?

The market size is shrinking because of the increase in competing international steel companies. The number of rivals in America is declining due to higher labor costs than in foreign countries. There is a very fast pace of technology in the steel industry and it seems that the company, that obtains the newest technology, flourishes. This is due to the difficulty in lower costs of steel production. Better technology is one of the only ways to decrease costs because labor is pretty much at a set cost and all that is left is the cost of iron and making the steel. If a

I believe that the steel market is a very attractive market for the players that are already competing. I would not recommend new companies to try to integrate themselves in this market without substantial capital and very advanced technology. Globally steel demand is rising every year and companies are still vigorously competing for the extra market share. All firms are continuing to expand evolve and grow which means that profit are also very high in the steel market. The do have some protection issues even in

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

For many Americans, the late nineteenth century was a time of big business, marked by economic and social evolution. In the period between the 1880 and 1920, the American economy was growing at a rapid pace. Many European immigrants without industrial skills flooded into American factories and steel mills. These "new comer's" came in search of better economic opportunity, which paved the way for Heavy, low paying labor that became the job description of the era for many immigrants. One such story of immigrants of the time is Thomas Bell's Out of this Furnace. This not only a story of three generations of Slovaks and the challenges they faced but also about the Americanization and "evolving

The largest floor covering product is carpet and rugs followed by ceramic tile, vinyl, hardwood, stone, laminate and rubber floorings.

If the labor market is no concern to you then maybe the environment is. Many foreign countries have little to no regulations on their manufacturing facilities to protect the environment. The drawback of this makes it difficult for American companies to compete. Paying fines or accumulating additional costs to meet energy standards is not cost effective. This can affect the

2. What do the results say about how firms in this industry can deliver strong financial returns in different ways?

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.

U.S. Steel and other steel companies for decades, relied on the tried and true strategies of vertical integration and price control (Hoerr, 1988). In the 1960’s, foreign competition from developing countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Brazil entered the market "with low material and labor costs, modern equipment, and the support of government policies" (Hoerr, 1988, p. 99). Because of lower costs and concern over supply created by constant threat of strike, many

Although tariffs usually cause domestic prices to increase they can have a positive effect on our economy and specifically our domestic producers of steel and their employees. The US trade policy has historically been protectionist in nature, and congress, the principle body of power for import policy, heavily favored domestic firms over their foreign competitors (Irwin 146). As a result, domestic steel producers have had tariffs and quotas in place for many years. An effective tariff raises revenue for our US government and can help to subsidize domestic production at the expense of foreign producers. This is good because the American government receives money from foreign exporters that it would not have otherwise had access to. This money can then be used in domestic government policies and could

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.

The five forces are not independent of each other and changes in one of the forces can have knock on effects with the other forces. The aim is to understand the nature and attractiveness of the industry, indentifying the drivers and allowing consideration of the impact of these forces on the SBUs on W H Smith.

In recent years, the US has increased tariffs on the steel industry in order to restrict