1.1 Definition and scope of the study

The steel industry represents all the techniques and industries involved in the manufacture of iron and iron alloys. It is an essential sub-field of metallurgy, which studies the manufacture of metals in general.

The world's biggest steel producers are China, which will dominate global production with more than half of global output in 2020 (928.3 Mt ), followed by Indiaindia (106.5 Mt) andjapan (104.3 Mt). China's dominance can be explained by the fact that the country is rapidly urbanizing, and that demand for steel is high in the construction sector, for example, but also by the fact that the Chinese government is actively implementing strategies aimed at consolidating its position as the world's leading producer.

For its part, the European Union produces around 160 million tonnesof finished steel per year.

The steel industry and the iron ore and coal mining industries, which supply its main raw materials, have historically been highly cyclical highly cyclical. They are strongly affected by general economic conditions, consumer trends as well as global production capacity and fluctuations in international trade steel trade and customs duties. This is due to the cyclical nature of the automotive, construction, machinery & equipment and transport industries, which are the main consumers of steel.

As defined by INSEE, the steel industry in France comprises :

production of pig iron and spiegeleisen in pigs, brines or other forms
production of ferroalloys
production of ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ores and other spongy ferrous products
production of exceptionally pure iron by electrolysis and other chemical processes
the production of iron or steel ingot scrap
the production of iron pellets and powders
production of steel ingots and other primary forms
production of steel semi-finished products
the manufacture of flat-rolled steel products obtained by hot and cold rolling
manufacture of hot-rolled steel bars
manufacture of hot-rolled steel open sections
production of steel sheet piling and welded open sections
manufacture of unassembled rail track components in steel

At2022,one ofmajor challengeschallenges for the steel industryrising steel prices in Europemost of these are the result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict underway since February 2022.

1.2 World market: Global steel production to slow down in 2022, despite considerable resilience to Covid 19

World steel production Source: ****

Since the subprime crisis, global steel production has continued to rise, with an average annual growth rate of *,**%. The steel industry has shown remarkable resilience during the global health crisis of COVID-**, maintaining relatively stable production between **** and ****, even when the global economy, particularly the construction sector, ...

1.3 French market

French steel market sales trend (***) France, ****-****, Million euros Source: Insee /Insee sales in the French steel market grew at an average annual rate of *,**% between **** and ****. GDP, meanwhile, grew by an average of *% a year over the same period, reaching **.* billion euros in ****. The French market has not been as ...

1.4: Balance of trade

Imports/exports of steel products in France France,****-****, million euros Source: French Customs French exports of steel products (***) grew by an average of *.**% over the period **** to ****with a significant drop of around **% in ****. This decline was largely offset in **** and ****, with respective increases of **% and **% in exports. However, despite ...

2.1 Construction: Europe's No. 1 consumer of steel products

Steel consumption in France France, ****, %, steel consumption

At European level, the construction industry is the leading consumer of steel products. Despite French production mainly based on the production of flat productsused in industry (***), beams and steel for metal envelopes

Index of evolution of income in construction ****-****, value of index **** = *** Source: ...

2.2 The transport industry: France's second-largest consumer of steel products

With**%of French steel production,the transport sector is France's second largest steel consumer. This is largely due to the automotive sector, but also to the railways

Steel used in the automotive sector (***) is a high value-added product.high value-added productsused for bodywork and engine components.

Sales growth index for the ...

3.1 Value chain

Today, steel production can be divided into two main processes: the melting process and the casting processhe cast-iron processand theelectric die. In France, the electric sector accounts for around **% of steel production, a figure lower than before the ****-**** crisis. In the United States, on the other hand, the electric sector ...

3.2 The different professions in the French steel industry

Basic steelmaking :

Basic steelmaking encompasses the process of steel production in a steel mill, where raw ore or scrap is transformed into various forms of semi-finished products such as slabs, billets, blooms, and many others.

Cold drawing

Wire drawing refers to the operation whereby a metal wire is passed through a ...

3.3 Determinants of steel industry activity

In this section, we will examine the various factors that explain the past and future development of the steel industry:

*) Consumers of steel products

As we have already seen in section * on the sectors that consume steel products, the good financial and economic health of these various sectors has a ...

3.4 Workforce and steel plants in France

Number of establishments in the steel industry in France France, ****-****, Number of establishments Source: ****

Number of employees in steel establishments in France France, ****-****, Number of employees Source: ****

The number of steel plants in France has remained relatively stable for around a decade, with a total of around ** . Significant barriers ...

4.1 Types of offer

Steel is the second most the produced in the world after cement. This metal is widely used because it is cheap, strong and highly versatile. Steel is relatively environmentally friendly compared to other materials, as it is fully recyclable and consumes little energy. Most steels contain iron and varying amounts of ...

4.2 Basic steelmaking

Basic steel production trend index France, ****-****, Base *** in **** Source: ****

In ****, basic steel production in France recorded a significant drop of *.*%to below pre-crisis levels. This decline is mainly due to the combined effects of the deteriorating economic context and the energy crisis affecting Europe, which had a particular impact on ...

4.3 Primary steel production

Sales for the French manufacture of steel tubes, pipes, hollow sections and related accessories France,****-****, Index base *** in **** Source: ****

since the subprime crisis, there has been a general since the subprime crisis, there has been a general downward trend in sales in steel tube and pipe production. However, it is ...

4.4 A price strongly correlated with raw material prices.

French industrial producer price index: (***) France, ****-****, base *** (***) Source: ****

International price indices for imported raw materials: Iron France, ****-****, base *** (***) Source: ****

Producer prices for steel products rose sharply in **** and ****, in correlation with the significant increase in raw material prices, particularly for iron ore. However, this upward trend in producer prices ...

5.1 Regulations

As steelmakers generate almost **% of their business from exports, they are highly sensitive to changes in international regulations, particularly with regard to customs duties.

In France, the steel industry is governed by the Convention Collective Nationale de la Sidérurgie of November **, ****

The EU is the world's second largest steel producer ...