Steel

Steel
    Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and it has a long history.   People were making steel by hand more than 1,500 years ago.   In the past, steel was very expensive, and it was often used to make swords and knives.   Due to technical constraints, people did not widely apply the steel and the steel production had limited.   After the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, the application of steel had been rapid development.   When founded in 1901, United States Steel Corporation was the largest business enterprise ever launched.   Throughout the years, U. S. Steel responded to changing economic conditions and new market opportunities.   Today, steel has different types: carbon steel, stainless steel, and tool steel; they are used widely in the construction of roads, railways, and buildings.   Furthermore, a lot of items made from iron in the past are now made of steel, such as machines, wires, and car bodies.   All in all, steel is an item which is declared as essential commodity today.
Based on data provided by the World Steel Association, China is the biggest steel producing country and occupied 37.8% of the world steel production in 2008.   Also, its steel production is about 500.5 million tones in 2008.   Furthermore, China is the biggest consumer country too and occupied 34.8% of the world steel consumption in 2008.   Its consumption is achieved to 4.17 hundred million tones in 2008.   On the other hand, the world's production of crude steel is 1.33 billion tones, and the world's consumption of finished steel reaching well over 1.00 billion tones in 2008.   About the current price of steel, it is mentioned by Macquarie.   Macquarie is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services.   According the news posted up by internet on Sept 15, 2009.   He mentions the advantage of hot-rolled steel prices in 2009 is raise 12.3% to US $538 a tones.   And due to the overhang of steel-making capacity that still exists, he predicts...