Macro-Environment
Nucor Corporation is the largest manufacturer of steel and steel products in North America. The worldwide industry in which Nucor competes had record years of crude steel production in 2010 and 2011. Steel making capacity worldwide was approximately 2,090 million tons in 2011, resulting in a 2011 capacity utilization rate of 80 percent versus just 75 percent in 2010. The demand for steel mill products had grown 5.5 percent annually since 2000, but between 2000 and 2011 there have been periods of both strong and weak demand. Weak demand caused over supplied conditions in the steel industry worldwide and allowed Nucor to expand via acquisition. Steel product segments include the production of steel deck, steel joists
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Open hearth processing has become obsolete and continuous casting and the electric arc furnace has been adopted. Information on the world steel industry including growth rates and production is listed in Exhibit 1.
Competitive Forces Rivalry in the steel industry is intense and price is the main factor for differentiation among competitors. Steel products are considered commodities and quality can be inconsistent on occasion, for the most part, steel plants turn out products of comparable metallurgical quality. The threat of new entry into the market is moderate. There are several entry barriers to overcome, product differentiation being one of them; however, costs would be the main barrier. The cost of raw materials can be very high since they are usually purchased in large quantities. Minimizing fixed costs can also be very challenging. Competition from substitutes is considered low. There are few substitutes for steel at this time. Steel is used for its strength and durability in auto manufacturing and in construction. As technology advances there are possibilities for alternative materials in the future. Supplier bargaining power is a high to moderate threat. Raw materials can be one of the largest costs for a company so suppliers often have the upper hand. Having a cost effective strategy for the supply of raw materials can have a huge effect on a company’s bottom line. Many firms choose to establish a joint venture with
After being completely rebuilt and having one of the best steel industries in the world, Pittsburgh is looking ahead to a great feature moving on to better things. Starting out as a fort during the Seven Years War and event moving on to the steel industry, Pittsburgh now has a great medical field. Pittsburgh is a very important historical area for Pennsylvania, having a both good and bad history. Pittsburg has been one of the most industrial cities in Pennsylvania, and has set an example for the rest of the state.
Nucor Corporation with 24 plants/divisions and 8,000 employees, operated in nine states recycling more than 10 million tons of scrap steel annually. Producing carboy and alloy steel in bars, beams, sheet, and plate; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; and metal building systems, the corporation was known as the most modern and efficient, having streamlined organizational structure,
These driving forces very easily impact the steel industry’s competitive structure in a bad way. These driving forces make it very difficult for steel companies to compete in this industry.
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
What are the primary competitive forces impacting U.S. steel producers in general and the producers like Nucor that make new steel products via recycling scrap steel in particular? Please do a five-forces analysis to support your answer.
One of technology advances that made it possible to produce more steel was Bessemer converter which
Upon Review of Nucor Corporation’s current findings, analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as a comparative analysis at the industrial level of the steel industry, the following includes a summary of findings and recommendations for Nucor Steel Corporation:
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
Nucor Corporation is the largest steel producer in the United States and had net sales of $12.7 billion in 2005. Nucor is the nation 's largest recycler. In 2004, Nucor recycled approximately 17 million tons of scrap steel, with 5 million of those tons being automobiles. Nucor 's origins are with auto
Another recommendation that I have for Nucor is instead of buying existing plant capacity, make new plants elsewhere or form a joint venture with a supplier to help save money. (Exhibit 3) This would decrease cost of supplies so they would have the extra money to build elsewhere or build a ne plant. By using the SWOT analysis (Exhibit 1) it let me break up Nucor into different parts to see what their strengths and weaknesses are. Nucor is solid with technology and treating the employees correct but the weaknesses that affect Nucor are more market based with some internal problems. Nucor has products for many different industries including automotive and housing. This can cause issues for Nucor if those industries take a fall, which they have over the last 5 years. It’s a good idea to be in these industries but Nucor has to realize what can happen to sales and revenues when one or both of those industries take a fall. Nucor has been expanding more in the United States, recently just building a plant in Louisiana (Exhibit 5). This plant will be a 750 million dollar purchase and will be a mill for pig iron. Nucor is expanding all over the United States but needs more presence internationally plan and simple. Nucor is a solid company with shareholder equity increasing each year; they have a solid stock in the NASDAQ market and continue to be a healthy steel company. They can and will
Globally, the U. S. steel industry is one of the largest as measured both by production as well as consumption. In 2010, the U.S. was third in global crude steel production with almost 6 percent share (Market Research.com, 2011).
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.
Nucor has created a company that is both internally and externally fit to the environment. The firm responds well to the driving forces of the industry and has opted to take a low-cost strategy with the relentless pursuit of innovation and strong employee productivity in order to combat the issues of the steel industry. In 2000, Nucor decided to expand its operations by acquiring new firms and new factories while continuing with its low-cost operations. The competitive strategy of Nucor has helped it become one of the leading manufacturers of steel and steel products in the United States.
The technology permits efficient entry into the flat sheet segment on a much smaller scale, allowing minimills to compete for a slice of the hitherto forbidden flat sheet market. Without entry into the flat sheet segment, minimills are forced to compete for niches in the non-flat categories or to stake out geographic strongholds. In 1983, Nucor experienced its first sales decline under CEO Ken Iverson – perhaps a telling sign that the company must expand outside of its traditional focus. FLIES IN THE OINTMENT The promise of thin-slab casting is indubitably enticing, but is it practicable? What are the risks that could throw a spanner in the steel works? Technological Chief among the risks is the uncertainty surrounding the very technological viability of thin-slab casting. The two most promising approaches in the 1980’s were the Hazelett Caster
Foreign steel producers plague the U.S. steel industry with unfair competitive practices. This practice is referred to as "dumping". Dumping of foreign steel has been a problem throughout the history of the U.S. steel industry. In the 1990s dumping has become more of a problem, due to the breakdown of the Russian economy and its transition from Capitalism to a free-market economy. According to Microsoft Encarta 98 (1998), Free-Market Economy, is an economic system in which individuals, rather than government, make the majority of decisions regarding economic activities and transactions. In addition, the Asian financial crisis has led to another round of dumping into the U.S. markets by many Asian