Raw Steel, Pig Iron, and Ferroalloys Production statistics



ITEM	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998


Raw steel (net tons):
World production..	790.4	779.4	710.7	730.9	782.6	792.9	788.9	811.1	859.2	865.3	849.4	812.6	797.0	802.0	799.6	829.4	826.9	874.9	856.8
U.S. production..	111.8	120.8	74.6	84.6	92.5	88.3	81.6	89.2	99.9	97.9	98.9	87.9	92.9	97.9	100.6	104.9	105.3	108.6	108.8
Percent of world..	14.2	15.5	10.5	11.6	11.8	11.1	10.3	11.0	11.6	11.3	11.6	10.8	11.8	12.2	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.4	12.7

Furnace:
Basic oxygen process..	67.6	73.2	45.3	52.1	52.8	51.9	47.9	52.5	58.0	58.3	58.5	52.7	57.6	59.3	61.0	62.5	60.4	61.1	59.7
Electric..	31.2	34.1	23.2	26.6	31.4	29.9	30.4	34.0	36.8	35.2	36.9	33.8	35.3	38.5	39.6	42.4	44.9	47.5	49.1
Open hearth..	13.0	13.5	6.1	5.9	8.3	6.4	3.3	2.7	5.1	4.4	3.5	1.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
Grade:
Carbon..	94.7	101.5	64.1	73.8	79.9	76.7	71.4	78.0	86.8	86.2	86.6	77.9	82.5	86.9	89.5	92.7	93.6	95.9	97.1
Alloy and stainless..	17.1	19.3	10.5	10.8	12.6	11.6	10.2	11.2	13.1	11.7	12.3	10.0	10.4	11.0	11.1	12.3	11.7	12.6	11.7

Pig iron and ferroalloys
production (sh. tons) ¹	68.7	73.6	43.3	48.7	51.9	50.4	44.0	48.4	55.7	55.9	54.8	48.6	52.2	53.1	54.4	56.1	54.5	54.7	53.2

1 For 1970, excludes blast furnace ferroalloys.

Source: American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington, DC, Annual Statistical Report (copyright). 1999 released July 2000.

http://www.steel.org/ *

Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF)

A pear-shaped furnace, lined with refractory bricks, that refines molten iron from the blast furnace and scrap into steel. Up to 30% of the charge into the BOF can be scrap, with hot metal accounting for the rest.

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)

Steelmaking furnace where scrap is generally 100% of the charge. Heat is supplied from electricity that arcs from the graphite electrodes to the metal bath. Furnaces may be either an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). DC units consume less energy and fewer electrodes, but they are more expensive.

Open Hearth Furnace

A broad, shallow hearth to refine pig iron and scrap into steel. Heat is supplied from a large, luminous flame over the surface, and the refining takes seven to nine hours. Open Hearths, at one time the most abundant steelmaking furnaces among integrated companies, have been replaced by the basic oxygen furnace.

Carbon Steel

Steel that has properties made up mostly of the element carbon and which relies on the carbon content for structure. Most of the steel produced in the world is carbon steel.

Alloy Steel

An iron-based mixture is considered to be an alloy steel when manganese is greater than 1.65%, silicon over 0.5%, copper above 0.6%, or other minimum quantities of alloying elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, or tungsten are present. An enormous variety of distinct properties can be created for the steel by substituting these elements in the recipe.

Stainless Steel

The term for grades of steel that contain more than 10% chromium, with or without other alloying elements. Stainless steel resists corrosion, maintains its strength at high temperatures, and is easily maintained. For these reasons, it is used widely in items such as automotive and food processing products, as well as medical and health equipment.

Pig Iron

The name for the melted iron produced in a blast furnace, containing a large quantity of carbon (above 1.5%). Named long ago when molten iron was poured through a trench in the ground to flow into shallow earthen holes, the arrangement looked like newborn pigs suckling. The central channel became known as the "sow," and the molds were "pigs."

Ferroalloy

A metal product commonly used as a raw material feed in steelmaking, usually containing iron and other metals, to aid various stages of the steelmaking process such as deoxidation, desulfurization, and adding strength. Examples: ferrochrome, ferromanganese, and ferrosilicon.

*

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/1253_raw_steel_pig_iron_and_ferroalloys.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.