Steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, typically containing less than 2% carbon along with other elements such as manganese, chromium, nickel and molybdenum, and is one of the world's most important industrial materials. The addition of carbon and other alloying elements gives steel superior strength, durability and versatility compared with pure iron, making it essential for construction, manufacturing, transport and infrastructure. Steel production involves either the basic oxygen furnace method, which uses iron ore and coke, or the electric arc furnace route, which recycles scrap steel. Major steel-producing regions include China, which accounts for more than half of global output, India, Japan, the United States and the European Union. The steel industry is a significant consumer of iron ore, coking coal and energy, and its performance is closely tied to construction activity, automotive manufacturing and capital investment cycles. Steel is traded globally both as a finished product in forms such as rebar, plate, coil and structural sections, and as semi-finished products including billets and slabs. Pricing is influenced by raw material costs, energy prices, demand from key sectors and trade policies including tariffs and quotas. The industry faces ongoing challenges related to overcapacity, environmental regulation and the transition to lower-carbon production methods such as hydrogen-based steelmaking. Steel remains a bellwether for economic activity and industrial development worldwide.
Steel Updates
Decarbonisation reinforcing demand for Kumba Iron Ore‘s high grade, lump products
By: Martin Creamer 28th July 2026 The decarbonisation journey of the steel industry is continuing to reinforce demand for the higher-grade ores and lump products of the kind... →
SA signals intent to prohibit goods produced by forced labour after new 12.5% US tariff
By: Terence Creamer 27th July 2026 Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau reports that government will publish a Gazette notice requesting public comments on South... →
South African exports to US face new 12.5% tariff, but with exemptions
By: Terence Creamer 24th July 2026 The US has, from July 24, imposed new tariffs of 12.5% on South African products for the country’s “failure to impose and effectively enforce a... →
Ramaphosa urges Sacu nations to build competitive production hub amid global trade turbulence
By: Thabi Shomolekae 26th June 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa wants Africa to strengthen its economic resilience through enhanced regional integration and cooperation, such as the... →
Standing Committee on Appropriations notes that economic pressures pose challenges to South Africa's export sector
3rd June 2026 The Standing Committee on Appropriations has noted that South Africa’s export sector continues to face significant pressure, largely due to the 30... →
Nigeria's Tinubu urges global finance overhaul as debt costs crowd out spending
By: Reuters 13th May 2026 Nigeria will spend about $11.6-billion servicing its debt in 2026, nearly half of its projected government revenue, President Bola Tinubu said, as... →
As costs drop, hydrogen energy sovereignty is being grasped 
By: Martin Creamer 5th May 2026 Following South Africa’s Northam Platinum reporting earlier this year that thousands of hydrogen-powered trucks are doing the rounds in China,... →
South Africa steel needs demand not belligerence, regulator says
By: Bloomberg 20th April 2026 The key to rescuing South Africa’s ailing steel industry, in which a unit of ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) is feuding with smaller competitors,... →
Multi-country hydrogen-based iron-ore-to-green-steel breakthrough in Namibia
By: Martin Creamer 14th April 2026 A green hydrogen breakthrough in Namibia is opening the way for decarbonised steel using iron-ore of considerably lower grade. In an electrically... →
South Africa will run out of industrial gas by 2028 and 70 000 jobs could be lost – why government fixes are lacking
18th March 2026 South Africa is about to have a gas supply crisis. Hundreds of South African factories, making everything from steel and glass to beer and soft... →
