Industry Analysis & Industry Trends
The Iron and Steel Manufacturing industry has faced extremely challenging trading conditions over the past five years. The industry's fortunes depend on activity in the construction and automotive industries, among others, and also on the price of inputs such as iron ore and coking coal. Demand from these industries contracted as the financial crisis took hold in 2008-09. Steel prices then plunged in 2009-10 as demand dried up in the wake of the financial crisis. As a result of these difficult conditions, industry revenue is expected to fall at a compound annual rate of 2.9% over the five years through 2012-13, reaching £8.94 billion.
Conditions in downstream markets had marginally improved in 2010-11, encouraging the industry to return to growth... purchase to read more
Industry Report - Industry Locations Chapter
Generally speaking, UK manufacturing industries are traditionally located in the midlands or in the northern areas of England. These regions have been well-established manufacturing hubs, due to good supply chain infrastructure (e.g. motorways, rail links and pipelines) and also cheaper land. For iron and steel manufacturers, proximity to downstream manufacturers is important. This improves supply chain efficiency and reduces transportation costs. The distribution of industry establishments reflects this, as the two regions with the most establishments are Yorkshire and the West Midlands. Yorkshire is the home to 19.6% of establishments and the West Midlands accounts for 17.4%... purchase to read more