China produces nearly 80% more than the next nine biggest steel producers, which are, in order, India, Japan, the US, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Brazil and Iran. 
Here’s an interesting article on steel on the South China Morning Post via Michael Pettis on Twitter.
Six Key Steel Points
- China’s steel industry has become a stand-in for the overall economy, with growing supply facing declining domestic demand. According to the World Steel Association, China produces roughly 55% of all the steel produced in the world.
- It produces nearly 80% more than the next nine biggest producers, which are, in order, India, Japan, the US, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Brazil and Iran.
- The article quotes the VP of the China Iron and Steel Association saying: “The biggest problem now is how to achieve a dynamic balance between supply and demand.”
This will require some combination of a decline in production, which is bad for growth and unemployment in China, and an expansion in exports, which won’t be easy for other steel producers and exporters. - So far exports have taken up much of the slack. The article notes an Oxford Economics report which measures China’s combined export volumes of iron and steel to be 80 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
- Fitch says that China’s steel exports climbed by 36.2% in 2023, to 90.26 million metric tonnes, and by 30.7% in the first quarter of 2024, to 25.8 million metric tonnes. This accounted for only 5% of China’s total output, suggesting it could grow a lot more.
- I suspect many steel producers will respond by protecting their steel industries, but this will be tougher for major steel exporters. After China, the largest steel exporters are Japan, South Korea, German, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Belgium, India and Brazil.
Despite the crash in the price of steel from $1945 to $813, the price is still much higher than the 2008-2019 average of about $500.
Manufacturers, especially auto and machinery, would welcome a further drop in the price of steel.
So would the construction industry.
And so would consumers who buy anything made out of steel.
Iron and Steel Mills Employment
For comparison purposes the UAW has more than 391,000 as of February 24, 2022.
Top Steel Users
The Top User of Steel is construction, not automotive.
- 1) Construction
Out of all of the industries that consume steel, the construction industry reigns supreme. In fact, according to the Organization for Co-Operation and Development, the construction industry accounts for approximately 50 percent of the world’s total steel consumption. This comes as no surprise seeing as steel is used to construct the majority of buildings and other infrastructures. - Wondering just how much steel the construction industry consumes? think somewhere along the lines of 7.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of steel each year. On a country-by-country basis, the United States is the largest consumer (no surprise there) and China comes in at a close second.
- 2) Besides construction, the automobile industry consumes more steel than any other industry. This isn’t surprising as iron and steel make up nearly 70 percent of an automobile’s weight. When it comes to the makeup of automobiles, vehicle manufacturing uses various steel products, but surface treated steel sheets are the type most utilized. Surface treated steel typically includes hot dipped galvanized, electro galvanized as well as galvannealed steel sheets.
- 3) The machinery industry is the third most steel-consuming industry in the world. The machinery industry manufactures industrial equipment and components made by cutting and welding steel plates. Specialty steels, along with steel sheets, pipes and bars are also frequently used. The machinery industry is responsible for the means of production for agriculture, mining, public utility, and more, so they rely heavily on the steel industry.
Is China Dumping Steel?
Let’s define dumping as exporting steel at a cost lower than the cost to produce it.
I would prefer to have a definitive answer with percentages, but let’s assume China is dumping steel.
Who are the Beneficiaries of Dumping?
- The entire construction industry, especially home builders and road construction.
- The US auto industry and machinery producers.
- Ultimately, US consumers win. Everything made with steel costs less to produce and those costs are inevitably passed on to consumers.
Who Are the Losers?
- 83,600 US Steel Workers
- Chinese consumers
Ultimately, Chinese consumers pay a price by subsidizing US consumers who benefit.
Neither President Biden nor Trump understands the above simple truth.
Both would rather have 86,300 happy steel workers at the cost of price increases across the board than happy consumers across the board.
So expect a massive increase in tariffs no matter who wins the election.
Trump Tweets “Trade Wars are Good and Easy to Win”
Flashback March 2, 2018 Trump Tweets “Trade Wars are Good and Easy to Win”
Can someone please explain what Trump “won”.
A Big Deflationary Push From China But Will Biden or Trump Allow That?
On April 22, I cautioned A Big Deflationary Push From China But Will Biden or Trump Allow That?
China keeps returning to a well that has run dry, using exports as a means for growth. China is about to hit a brick wall, with global consequences.
The Only Way to Win
Everyone thinks they can win a trade war. The only way to win is not play the game.
Neither China, nor the US, nor Germany or Japan has figured this out. And everyone wants to be a big exporter. It’s mathematically impossible.
My #1 issue looking ahead to 2025 is a global trade war with serious repercussions.
Meanwhile, please note Biden’s New Carbon Capture Mandates Will Cause Blackouts, Increases Prices
If there is a brief respite of serious disinflation, it will be transitory.
“Both would rather have 86,300 happy steel workers at the cost of price increases across the board than happy consumers across the board.”
Because maybe, just maybe, a healthy economy isn’t made up of happy consumers, but of happy industries that are able to function even if the Chinese change their mind on a basic product like steel. In other words, a healthy economy is robust instead of one that imports risks from China.
I suggest that we offshore every reader, and commenter on this forum of their job, so as to save the American consumer from the high cost of American labor. It might be like a Government shutdown, or “A Day Without a Mexican Illegal Protest” Would they actually be missed.
Who needs the American worker when we can all just buy Bitcoin, become Day Traders, Landlords, Passive Income Types, and just watch our 401K accounts continue to grow, and grow to the moon.
If you are an American, the time will soon come when you will have to contribute nothing of value. It will be kittens, and puppy dogs all the way down, and it will be wonderful.
China steel is VERY inferior. Can’t pass QA/QC stress/strength testing. Think simply bolts. Voids, anomalies, failing on bridges, skyscrapers, etc. I retired from American company that required quality control. We tried (because of cheaper costs) to buy Chinese steel products, but the stuff was such garbage and it delayed projects etc. by long lead times for specialized steel products. Environmental issues…, well for all the do gooders out there China is the largest worlds polluter. So call the US out, but we did learn some things about quality and responsibility along the way. We are likely one of the cleanest producers, but that didn’t happen automatically and it makes steel more expensive. I’m sure there’s still room for improvement. China completely ignores environment to reduce costs
If Chinse steel is inferior, then people would not want it. So no need for tariffs. Right?
Wasn’t going to chime in on this but you make excellent points.
Thing is about getting jobs using steel or pretty much anything, rare in a commodity market to have specs calling out grades that need confirmation by analysis.
As long as there is a stamp on it, it qualifies.
Similar to elections. Not who votes that counts,but who counts the votes.
Most successful bidding is determined by low bid as jobs most always go by price.
Easiest way to go bankrupt is build a superior product, using superior materials and labor. Almost impossible to sell that product except to a very few who actually care what goes into what they are buying.
When it hits the fan well that’s why there are lawyers. This is how modern world actually works. That is why when a person buys that made in China product they get burned a few times as product failure is virtually guaranteed. Paying for the same thing two or three times is the course most folks travel.
Problem with producing a top quality product, by the time customer has gotten burned enough to wise up, they are out of money.
On my mind is that saying “Buy the Best and only Cry once”. But I have been around town more then occasionally.
0.0256% of the US POPULATION, 337 Million, are represented by Steel Workers.
In other words, 336,913,700 are SCREWED BY TWO SCREWBALL Octogenarians who cannot think and only PANDER — but they are PANDERING to 0.0256% of the Population….but they are BLASTING THIS TO US ON CNN.
And, by Pandering, we know that a COMPLETELY BOUGHT AND PAID FOR MEDIA will BLAST THE HEADLINE that TARIFFS ARE GOOD FOR AMERICANS.
This is the bullshit that we are dealing with as Americans. We are being sold DOWN THE FREAKING RIVER by a handful of IDIOTS who only care about THEIR WELL-BEINGS.
It is a travesty, it will never end and thus I WILL NEVER VOTE AGAIN.
Don’t cry for Gary, Indiana.
The US needs to protect its steel industry but not for the sake of the overpaid workers. When SHTF steel will be needed to make guns, tanks, ships etc and you will not be able to rely on JIT supples from foreign suppliers nor rebuild demolished mills.
Turkey is the main steel supplier to Israel and has just stopped all trade. Guess China has a new market for its exported steel
surely the Inflation Production Act has few rubles/yuan for bringing back Merikan steel companies
Anyone ever ask why China’s steel industry gets to produce so cheaply.
Could it be lack of environmental concern?
Focusing just on Tariff responses to level playing field because yah know, West can not compete and all that is narrow in thinking.
Where’s all the comments condemning Boomers for selfishness and extolling the Climate change narrative of the evil West for producing Carbon. One guy is bullish on Oil energy then is full on negative about CO2 and its effects.
Where’s environmental concerns over China Steel production? China exempt from criticism because they supply a product cheap and that is all that matters as to final analysis.
Seems to me there is fairly lot missing from subject analysis of how China produces cheaper then even India.
Tariffs are not just protectionism as to source but also a result of unequal methods of producing a commodity such as Steel.
You are idiotically SWEEPING ALL BOOMERS into the same shit tank as a handful of Boomers controlling things.
DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING about an entire Generation due to the actions of a tiny slice of so-called ELITES.
I hate the BOOMERS IN CONTROL.
But, I love my fellow Citizen Boomers, who like me, speak out against power and control. You should, too.
Please apologize to my Fellow CONTROL-HATER BOOMERS while you still can.
THE CONTROLLER BOOMERS (Trump, Biden, Clinton, BushCO) have been and ARE TRYING TO KILL US ALL.
My comment about Boomers was directed to all those who make comment on this blogosphere, who quite consistently make derogatory comments about Boomers.
Boomers were raised by people who experienced a time in World History where the unspeakable horrors of World War colored their existence. Returning back to US shores after fighting in Europe and Pacific theaters all they wanted to do was settle down and find some peace in raising a Family.
That is why the 1950’s became such an Ideal world to grow up in.
The great Depression was in the Past so was WW2. Advent of Atomic age and Cold War were grown up level things so children aka Boomers grew up in a world filled with Hope for a better tomorrow.
We now have adults who have been raised watching Netflex movies about Apocalypse now as primary theme for everything they see and hear about.
They can not comprehend that Life does not have to be lived under delusion or control by others.
So my advice to you is chill out.
“ One guy is bullish on Oil energy then is full on negative about CO2 and its effects.”
Yep. That would be me. I have explained this a hundred times. Perhaps you are new here?
Mankind’s use of fossil fuels has created an economic boom over the last 2 centuries, dramatically improving standards of living. But there is a downside; all those greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use has raised CO2 levels from 280 ppm to 425 ppm and causes global warming and climate change. So governments worldwide are attempting to transition from fossil fuels to renewables in an attempt to reduce emissions. But after more than 2 decades of trying, we are still using MORE fossil fuels each year, because of our addiction to using ever more energy.
In the face of heavy pressure from many sources, the fossil fuel industry has been reducing capex for the last decade. Which means future supply is being constrained while demand continues to grow. The net result is upward pressure on prices.
I keep saying the same thing over and over, yet very few here seem to understand. Yes, global warming is real. Yes it’s because of our use of fossil fuels. Yes, we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels. BUT we won’t reduce our use; because we are addicted to economic growth, and we need fossil fuels for that growth. So global warming and climate change will keep getting worse.
There is nothing I can do about this situation other than understand it and accept it. And profit from it by owning oil companies who are going to benefit from high oil prices.
Get it?
Seems to me the story line has been ethics was supposed to drive investment.
Unethical behavior in supporting Oil Industry by investing in it, is that not the WH call.
Maybe you are not on that green new deal bandwagon.
By the way there is growing evidence that the next and possibly already in it Climate move is towards a cold period caused by the Cyclic in Nature Grand Solar Minimum.
Solar Cycle 25 at or near peaking. Once this 11 year cycle turns down again should have cooler winters over next 6-8 years as consequence.
Climate a lot more complicated then man made CO2 driven as water vapor is much more impactful then CO2, Couple that with a Sun putting out less energy in a Grand Solar Minimum and heat indexes are peaking now.
Don’t get me wrong although where I am East Coast of US had a mild winter whilst mid-West had more typical winter. Helped my in ground Fig Trees get an early start in my zone 7 borderline 6B climate area.
Should be a good year for Figs and Grapes if not too wet.
Yes. Climate is global. Weather is local. So one area can have a mild winter while another is seeing record cold or snow.
Good luck with your fig trees.
The only bandwagon I am on is my own. I work hard to understand what is going on in the world in order to make appropriate investment decisions.
The oil industry has been a target for many. Big pensions, and many investment funds have divested from the industry because of ESG concerns. Many banks and other lending sources are refusing to lend anymore money to the industry. So the industry is pulling back their capex for future production. They are using their free cash flow to pay down or pay off their debt. They are becoming “self-funded”. All of which restricts future investment and thus, future production.
The good news is that with upward pressure on oil prices, the industry is gushing free cash flow from their current production. They only need to use some of this cash flow to maintain or slowly expand future production. So they can use their excess cash flow to pay down debt, buy back shares and increase dividends. They have very little incentive to “drill baby drill”.
Some are also investing small amounts in “green”’energy as well. After all, the government is providing lots of incentives to do that.
If you want a serious discussion on climate, I would be happy to oblige.
First: Solar cycles make very little difference in earth’s temperature. During the 11 year solar cycle, solar irradiance changes by less than 0.1% between the high and low. The effect on earth’s temperature is less than 0.1C over the 11 year cycle. Which works out to less than 0.01C per year. All of which is meaningless in the long run because the cycle keeps repeating. Up 0.1% and down 0.1%. Solar cycles have nothing to do with the last 200 years of warming.
Second: The last 5-6 years of a solar cycle will have almost zero effect on “winter” temperatures. The reduction in solar irradiance is so tiny, that it won’t be noticed. Winter is likely to be affected far more by other factors; la nina, el nino, wandering jet stream, etc.
Third: If you have evidence that a Grand Solar Minimum is coming, then please provide it. The world would welcome such an event, because it would reduce solar irradiance by as much as 0.25% and cool the planet by as much as 0.3C. Which would counter the last 12 years of warming. However, there is no evidence of this coming anytime soon.
And even a GSM would not stop our emissions of GHGs, which would continue unabated; raising the CO2 and CH4 levels in the atmosphere and baking in more future warming.
Fourth: You misunderstand the role of water vapor. Yes, it is the most abundant green house gas, but it is meaningless by itself. It works together with the other GHGs. Take all the CO2 and CH4 out of the atmosphere and the average temperature would plummet to -18C. The amount of water in the atmosphere would plummet towards zero, and the entire planet would be a ball of frozen ice.
Mankind has increased the level of CO2 in the atmosphere from 280 ppm to 425 ppm over the last 200 years. This has increased average temperature by 1.2C. Which has increased the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold by 8%.
Water vapor and it’s effects are driven by CO2 (and other GHG) levels.
Summary: The world is going to keep warming, because we are going to keep emitting. We are not going to stop using fossil fuels. There is no Maunder Minimum coming to “save us” from ourselves. And solar cycles are almost meaningless in terms of global warming.
I hope that helps you understand the science. I kept it as short and simple as possible for you.
There is a rather extensive amount of information on advent of Grand Solar minimum. It is cyclic in nature and has documentation in geologic record.
Doing just a quick google for a list of priors.
Wolf Minimum 1280-1350 AD
Sporer Minimum 1450-1550
Maunder Minimum 1645-1715
Dalton Minimum 1790-1820
As we are overdue for the next one which will lead to a cooling period.
I do believe this is a tradeable event and worth studying.
These periods in past lead to famines and economic downturns accompanied by large Civil conflicts. Things such as Snow ruining crops in Maine in July comes to mind.
Estimates as to onset of current one which has been called Eddie are still all over the place. Have seen duration projections for as short as fifty years into future to as much as 350 years(which would be a very deep one)
Massive topic and many unknowns. However it is based upon the rather sound idea that the Sun controls our climate. Everything else is secondary. For a while I had read everything I could find on it.
Fluctuations in solar output end up doing the deed.
There is also the Milankovitch cycle which he hypothesized triggered the onset and ending of the longer Glaciation periods.
Currently the Earth being long in the tooth for onset of next glaciation since last one occurred.
With so many unknowns about Climate and what causes long term fluctuations, I have problem believing mankind can have much effect if any on geologic events of such magnitude.
Just as an afterthought from my own observation of the meridional Jet stream from just past winter.
There were cold fronts that pushed south into Mexico and the line continued up into Canada, across whole of US. Can never remember a single front as large as that on weather maps.
Another item is extensive deaths of herds of animals in Central Asia at higher elevations. Same thing happened in high elevations in South America. It makes sense that if things were cooling it would show up in high altitudes geographic locations first. Animals literally froze to death in fields where they were normally pastured.
Yes. There are more extremes as the climate changes. More record high temperatures and more record low temperatures. However, record high temperatures outnumber record low temperatures by 10-1 over the last 4 decades because the planet is warming. Trying to use isolated examples of record cold as proof that the planet is cooling is wishful thinking.
The world is NOT cooling at high altitudes. If it was, the high altitude glaciers would be growing, not melting. Glaciers are often at higher altitudes and 98% of them are melting. There is no “cooling showing up”.
The snow skiing and snowboarding industry is struggling as their ski hills are becoming less usable each year.
And billions of people rely on glacier runoff for their water. As glaciers literally disappear, so does the water runoff.
You need to seriously reconsider your outlook. You are trying to find isolated examples that fit your belief, rather than recognizing what is actually happening.
I am very familiar with Milankovitch cycles and have been mentioning them here for years. Currently, all M cycles have been in cooling phases for the last 8000 years. Which is why the planet was slowly cooling for those 8000 years. Given another 70,000 years or so of cooling, and there would be a mile of ice over New York again. Just like there has been roughly every 100k years for the last million years. CO2 levels should drop to around 180 ppm by then. Then as the cycles reverse, in another 20,000 years CO2 would go back up to 280 ppm, the planet would warm and the ice would melt.
However the current natural cooling cycle has been overwhelmed by mankind’s emissions. Instead of the long slow decline in CO2 happening naturally, and the planet cooling naturally over the next 70k years, we have boosted CO2 from 280 ppm to 425 ppm and are now rapidly warming the planet. We have reversed 8000 years of natural cooling in less than 200 years. And we are moving rapidly in the warming direction, in spite of the M cycle. Mankind has overwhelmed nature.
Note: For the last million years, during each M cycle, CO2 levels have ranged from 170-300 ppm. At 170 ppm ice is over New York. At 300 ppm, ice is mostly melted except at the poles. For the last 10,000 years of man’s history, CO2 levels were slowly declining from 285 to 280 ppm. Till we began burning fossil fuels and increased CO2 levels to 425 ppm.
Regarding your Grand Solar Minimum. I repeat. There is NO indication one is coming. You are just guessing. And even if one comes, it won’t stop the current warming, because it won’t stop our emissions. At best, it offsets a few years of warming.
The record is there about a cooling cycle that occurs at some sort of cyclic period. It is named Grand Solar Minimum.
Having read “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” by Mackay this whole CO2 narrative is another chapter in that Book.
CO2 is the Gas of Life. Without it plants do not grow and all Life perishes.
We are living in a time similar to when Columbus made his first Voyage. He was supposed to sail so far out that he would drop off the edge of the world and never return.
Things I am interested in and little the public research done about it is how the Sun affects Earth. Media can beat to death the mankind is killing Earth via CO2 and we are all going to drown tabloid news. Me, I’ll take a pass on that.
I don’t care about the media. I care about the science. Like the science of the sun. Which you don’t seem to understand.
Over the last million years the sun’s output has been remarkably steady. Yet every 100,000 years we transitioned from an ice age with a mile of ice over New York, to a warm inter-glacial period and back again. The reason for this is not the sun changing its output, it is the Milankovitch cycles that alter how much of the sun’s energy the earth can capture. Without an atmosphere with CO2, the earth would not be able to retain the sun’s energy and the Milankovitch cycles would be meaningless.
In fact without an atmosphere with CO2, the earth would be a frozen ball of ice with an average temperature of -18c.
= outsorcing
in 2024, if some black dude got burnt or even killed in steel factory (accidents happen you know) CAN you IMAGINE shi111tshow would happen over his death?
and god forbids owners are some rich white folks from ‘old money’ !!
we are talking about hundreds of $$$ milions of court fines, reparations, gov fines, etc etc!
SORRY GUYS, USA is done in terms of any heavy industries, never gonna happen!
alx
The majority of steel in the US is domestic as most projects require domestic steel. Chinese steel had a bad name. Quality isn’t assured. You may get mill specs but they are not always believable. You see it in what they build. Latches, fasteners and more. They have more failures than you would expect. Product liability isn’t something they worry about.
Good story from one of our customers. They were producing large boom (structural item) in China. They always tested the steel and knew exactly what they had and what they could build. US manager was gone 2 weeks and comes back and they have built one more boom that they had material for. They were proud to tell him they built this from scrap and pieced it together. He was shocked. They destroyed the boom as there would be no way to know if it was safe.
China built up its domestic steel industry using subsidies since the year 2000. They needed the steel for their massive infrastructure push over the last two decades. Now that infrastructure is mostly in place and less steel is needed domestically. So producers are looking to dump their extra capacity through exports. Over time, some of these steel mills will have to be shuttered. Which will reduce their coal imports from Australia.
In addition, their massive expansion of wind, solar and nuclear, will finally begin to reduce their electricity production from coal, starting this year, and continuing in the coming years. Another hit to Australian coal imports.
Finally; here are four pillars of modern society that we cannot live without: steel, cement, plastics, and fertilizer. All of these four pillars require coal, oil, and NG to produce them at scale. Which is just one more reason that fossil fuels cannot be eliminated anytime soon
Will someone remind me what Adam Smith said about industries necessary for national defense?
Agree Doug. USA has gotten ourselves into trouble by outsourcing chip manufacturing. Let’s not do the same with steel. That would be very short sighted.
This really is the crux of the whole issue (for every industry…not just steel) – how much can be safely offshored with an eye towards ntl security/economic stability (20 years of pretty crappy employment growth – in both size and composition – has kinda put the lie to the 90’s Panglossian promise that US workers would “migrate upwards” to become biotechnicians, electrical engineers, etc.)
In reality, we got busted futures and Barista-Ville.
The Fed hasn’t even been able to manipulate money supply/interest rates so that 20 years of ZIRP led to more *affordable* housing/sustainable construction employment…instead we got the worst mis-valuations in US history…with vast overproduction followed by vast underproduction.
How much do we need for national defense? I bet it’s such a tiny amount that we can get it from recycling existing steel. If we can’t, then we can employ say 5000 workers or whatever small number is needed to just make steel for the military and all the rest for civilian use we can get from China.
I suppose on the very long term plus side is that the rest of the world buys cheap Chinese steel while we here in the US over pay for domestic. That means those countries are gradually closing the gap on America in terms of wealth and production etc. Do it long enough and in enough industries and we’ll sink to 3rd world status at which point our labor costs will be competitive again 😉
Likely true…but look at how unprepared the Feds were (with a $700 billion “national defense” budget, CDC, etc.) to even supply/manufacture a very simple item like surgical masks.
Remember that desperate crisis and the essential failure of America’s at-this-point-more-and-more-mythical “manufacturing might”.
And did GM ever produce even one g*ddamn ventilator?
50 years of American decline has taught me to be cynical about the myths of “American Greatness”.
De-industrialization, economic destabilization, and multiple lost wars will do that.
The US is a big producer of steel so we do have easily enough but not all steel is equal. Specialty steel is needed for special uses and if you lose that knowledge of how to make it then you will be reliant on other countries for that special product so a tariff on imports of that type of steel does make sense. Anybody can make pig iron but not everybody can make the different grades of Military Grade Steel so it would be rather stupid to get rid of our companies that make it and buy it from China to save a few bucks.
Like I said, you keep 1-3 thousand steel workers making specialty steel just for the military. Everyone else can go if they aren’t competitive.
The military already makes its own CPU chips and plenty of other specialty items that are military grade so one more item in steel is not a big deal.
Just don’t make everyone else over pay for steel.
Empire goes well beyond national defense.
Exactly. CSIS reported in march that China’s shipbuilding capacity is now 230x greater than the United States’; unreal.
link to csis.org
“Will someone remind me what Adam Smith said about industries necessary for national defense?”
In a legitimately governed free country, that would work out to: The “industries” needed to keep citizen militias’ favorite gunshops reasonably well stocked. The current world champs at national defense; by a landslide; are the Afghans. What industries do they have, again? Runner up is likely Israel…..
Outside of childish rah-rah; national defense is about little more than competently wielded rifles (and light anti-air and anti-tank kit. As well as, nowadays; cheap drone swarms) behind blades of grass. Even without any involvement at all from the $2K-toilet-seat MIC crowd; Texans could easily kick repel another attempt at an offensive by the Mexican national army. As well as darned near any other national army. While Mormonia realistically qualifies for a permanent UN Security Council seat. Right next to their Afghan pals.
Socialists systems can’t make anything and remain in the red. Only China can do it and other NON socialists countries. It is very simple to understand. China and third worlders don’t need healthcare, childcare, paid vacations, 401k’s. It’s not any harder than that.
If anyone thinks this it is harder than that then you will be in for an awful awakening when these countries stop making your stuff and buying your debt which they already started doing.
Best case scenario you die before 2030 because after that things are going to get very real. The western system of relying on cheap labor is ending.
Who needs a domestic steel industry? We can all get rich cooking hamburgers for each other.
You are behind the times. We are supposed to be coding each other’s web pages now.
Then we’ll be producing each other’s cat videos. The real economic boost will come from the pretty girl’s only fans pages.
How much steel does the US military need ?
Destroyers and submarines come in at about 8000 tons each. Carriers are 100,000 tons. The Abrams is about 65 tons.
oh, the submarines do not use ordinary steel. It’s very much a special recipe.
US makes close to 97 million tons a year.
Given carriers are made once a decade at best and other ships not that much more often I am pretty sure the military uses less than 1% of all steel made in the USA.
“Wondering just how much steel the construction industry consumes? think
somewhere along the lines of 7.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of steel
each year.”
This is merely a rounding error compared to consumer electronics.
Eximpedia: China is the world’s largest electronics exporter by a wide margin. As of 2022, China exported over $671.5 billion in electronics, accounting for roughly 33% of the worldwide market.
Have we tried more outsourcing? Surely there are more American geographic regions we can deindustrialize?