ABSTRACT
The transition year from high growth to low growth in world steel consumption occurred in 1974, the year of the first world oil crisis. Governments in the steel producing countries not only were not passive in the face of the major structural changes in the world steel industry, but were responsible for many of them. Steel is the most important engineering material in industrial societies. Its importance extends from primary manufacturing to construction, and it has always been essential for national security. The process of making steel in an integrated steel plant is made up of six basic operations: coke production, iron ore agglomeration, ironmaking, steelmaking, casting and finishing. The changes in patterns of world steel production can be partially related to changes in consumption and trade patterns. In response to the Japanese industry’s rapid growth, steel producers in other western nations sought to copy the scale advantages of Japanese plants.
