World Cost Curve for Steel Sheet Plants

Revamped format with greater detail.

WSD’s World Cost Curve (WCC) for 2005 is our 11^th annual update. The WCC is:

Improved. In our new format, we offer more detail in the raw material input prices and process-by-process costs. The cost figures each year are adjusted for changes in currency values, inflation, labor costs and raw material costs.

Authoritative. The new format makes cost comparisons between the WCC data and your own steel plant data easy to understand. In the past year, we’ve had cost feedback from steel companies in most regions of the world. For China, details are provided for 15 steel companies -- thin-slab and traditional -- based on our extensive information network in that country.

Unique.We provide variable/fixed and home country/U.S. dollar costs at and through each process stage. The system also categorizes hot strip mills and cold-rolling mills in different “product capability” categories – from Tier 1 to Tier 10 (best quality and product capability).

Controversial. The results for 2005 diverge even more from what’s expected given the spikes in raw material prices in the past year; these spikes have impacted individual steel plants to a sharply varying extent. The worlds’ lowest cost steelmakers now tend to be located in Kazakhstan, India, Russia and Brazil.

The World Cost Curve – 2005 covers about 150 steel sheet plants in 45 countries with a combined gross capacity of about 490 million tonnes. It includes:

• A comprehensive computer printout (about 600 pages) that displays, for each plant, cost results by process (coke, BF, LS, slab, HRC, CRC) in the home country currency and U.S. dollars and details on the prices paid for key input items, yields, manhours, financial costs, etc.

• A series of cost curves that analyze various aspects of the steelmaking and rolling process. The results are ranked for 24 parameters including operating and marginal costs at each process stage, raw material costs, labor costs and manhours per tonne at various stages.

• A PC version on CD ROM that permits the user to change currency values, operating rates, manhours per tonne, major material cost, other material cost, depreciation and interest expense, share of fixed costs and share of costs in U.S. dollars by category.

The WSD staff and Donald Barnett, independent consultant, have about 215 years of combined experience in assessing critical trends in the steel business.

The World Cost Curve for Steel Sheet Plants sells for $7,500 to WSD subscribers and $12,500 to others.

For a sample of the Sheet World Cost Curve, please click here "FRWCC".