Steel industry added value.

Steel value chain

Value creation with flat and long products

Steelmakers create added value through the processing of raw materials such as ferrous scrap or iron ore. The more processing steps there are, the greater the value that is created.

Flat steel products refer to items such as plate, hot and cold rolled strip and coil, tinplate, and electrical steel; and also include galvanised and organic coated steel. These products are usually made from slab. Slab itself is usually produced from continuous casting of liquid steel which in turn is usually made from iron ore via the blast furnace / basic oxygen steelmaking route.

Steel long products on the other hand refer to goods such as beams, heavy sections, rails, bar products, as well as wire rod, steel wire, strand, and even wire rope. These items are typically manufactured from a billet or bloom. Billet in turn is usually made from liquid steel which derives from melting scrap in an electric furnace.

Note that both definitions normally exclude tubular products such as welded or seamless pipe.

Click below to see the value chain for flat or long products, as defined by the market prices of raw materials as they undergo progressively more transformation or include increaing quantities of metal alloys.

FLAT PRODUCT VALUE CHAIN LONG PRODUCT VALUE CHAIN