Iron and steel industry in the United States

Employment In 2022, the U.S. was the third-largest producer of raw steel worldwide, after China and India, and ranked sixth in pig iron production.

[3] As of 2022, major steel-makers in the United States included Cleveland-Cliffs, Carpenter Technology, Commercial Metals Company, Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and U.S.

In the US, this is done in blast furnaces and since 2014 again using direct reduced iron furnaces in Nucor's plant in Louisiana as well as another DRI plant (producing a compactified version of DRI called hot briquetted iron, or HBI) in Texas by Voestalpine.

Flux materials, like lime, are added to the furnace to lower the melting point and remove impurities as slag.

Stainless steel commonly contains a minimum of 10.5% chromium, and may also contain significant amounts of nickel or molybdenum.

Slag, a byproduct of iron and steel-making composed primarily of highly impure glass, would normally be a waste product.

[17] Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the U.S. steel industry actively advocated for stronger trade protections, including reimposing tariffs on steel imports from the United Kingdom, European Union, and Japan to address trade-distorting practices.

They have also publicly called for stricter enforcement of trade laws and increased tariffs on steel-intensive products from China and Southeast Asia.

In the 1800s, the US switched from charcoal to coke in ore smelting, adopted the Bessemer process, and saw the rise of very large integrated steel mills.

In the 20th century, the US industry successively adopted the open hearth process, then the basic oxygen furnace.