Private Consulting Studies

World Steel Dynamics regularly performs customized steel consulting studies on a broad range of subjects. Past consulting assignments have ranged from competitive market assessments to detailed company evaluations and product specific studies. Clients have included U.S. and international steel producers, steel users, raw material suppliers and financial and government groups.

When performing these studies, detailed marketplace and product pricing crosschecks are a frequent requirement. These are facilitated by our extensive network of contacts the world over. We also place great emphasis on the relative cost position of the firm. The purpose is to better understand what conditions are necessary for the steel firm in question to have the "pricing power" to pass on its costs.

We seek to be innovative in these studies. This is a function of effort, method and knowledge. Regarding method, we take both a bottom-up and top-down approach to answering questions. We also try to apply time-tested "industrial structure" economic principles to better understand what has happened and what will happen. Regarding knowledge, Peter F. Marcus and Karlis M. Kirsis have more than 70 years of combined experience in analyzing the steel industry. A major aid is World Steel Dynamics' vast data base on international steel prices, costs, capacity, demand and finances, which permits the detailed analysis of historic relationships in an industry perspective. In order to maximize the results, we frequently work with outside experts such as Donald Barnett (a well known industry consultant).

Consulting assignments have covered a broad range of subjects:

• Assessments of the competitive situation for a specific steel plant. This included a comparison of its process-by-process costs versus the competition, standing in the marketplace and the steps needed to ensure viability.
• Evaluations of the minimill industry, including the determination of the costs and shipments by product for the North American participants.
• Investigations of the U.S. steel service center, converting and processing industry.
• Regional supply/demand balances for specific products and the competitive position of the groups supplying the product to the market.
• Global or regional studies for products such as steel scrap, slabs, plate, flat-rolled sheet, stainless steel and iron ore. This included demand forecasts, supply assessments, the production cost of the leading players, names and requirements of specific buyers and sellers, trade balances and historic and forecasted pricing trends.
• Detailed process-by-process cost comparisons for steel slab, plate, hot-and-cold-rolled sheet, OCTG, rebar and structurals.
• Comprehensive slab market and coke market reports:

--- Have projected U.S. ingot and CC slab requirements and production, by plant, and  shipments by product.   A careful country-by-country and leading plant projection of world slab demand and supply. Looked at the historic development of steel slab trade, including pricing data and suppliers and buyers.

--- Have assessed blast furnace (BF) output, non-BF coke usage and BF coke usage after injection of pulverized coal or other supplemental fuels. On the supply side, we consider gross and effective coke capacity by country (by facility where available), coke production, coke trade and the age of coke batteries.