Indiana again led the nation in steel production in 2014.
The Hoosier State has been first in steel output since 1980, after the national industry shrunk and Northwest Indiana’s location on Lake Michigan made it a cost-effective place to receive iron ore and other raw materials for the steelmaking process.
“Indiana is still the top steel-producing state,” American Iron and Steel Institute spokeswoman Rachel Gilbert said.
Though the state has a few mini-mills, such as in Crawfordsville and the Fort Wayne area, in this case Indiana mainly means Northwest Indiana. Most of the steel is made in mills along Lake Michigan in Lake and Porter counties.
Nationally, U.S. steel mills shipped, or sold, 98.2 million net tons of steel in 2014, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Steel shipments rose 3 percent over the 95.4 million tons mills shipped in 2013.
Internationally, steel production reached 1.6 billion tons last year, a 1.2 percent increase over 2013, according to the World Steel Association. North American steel production rose 2 percent year-over-year to 121.2 million tons.
The United States made an estimated 88.3 million tons of crude steel, a 1.7 percent increase over 2013, the World Steel Association estimated. U.S. output hit its highest level since 2008, when it made 91.8 million tons of steel.
America hasn’t made more than 100 million tons of steel in a single year since 2000, right before many of the domestic steelmakers went out of business and most of Northwest Indiana’s mills ended up in the hands of ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel, according to World Steel Association estimates.
Indiana again led the nation in steel production in 2014. - nwitimes.com
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