METALS FORUM Feeling the strength and versatility now more than ever

Oct 01, 2007 | 02:14 PM |

Steel is a fundamentally strategic material. It's versatile, affordable and high-tech. As such, we have seen a steady increase in demand for steel both in rapidly growing economies, such as China and India, and in mature industrial economies, such as Europe and North America. Steel's ability to combine with other materials and evolve into new compositions that offer societal benefits has solidified its status as the material of the future.

According to the International Iron and Steel Institute, global steel consumption exceeded 1.1 billion tons in 2006, an increase of more than 350 million tons over the previous seven years—demonstrating the growing global need for steel. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and its North American member companies are committed to providing steel solutions that meet this growing demand. We are doing this through a shared vision generated through AISI partnerships, which are stimulating the development of new ideas and expediting the implementation of steel solutions in the marketplace. Today's steels are providing the solutions necessary for tomorrow's challenges.

In the automotive market, we have been able to develop advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), which are the most sophisticated steels available today for automotive applications. AHSS foster weight reduction and exhibit a superior combination of high strength, crash energy management, excellent formability and dent resistance. In fact, 50 percent of the steels used to make automobiles today did not exist even 10 years ago. The efficiencies gained from using lighter-weight yet higher-strength steels are impressive. These steels have made automobiles safer and more fuel-efficient and have the potential to enable significantly more progress in emissions reductions.....