Steel: 2050: How Steel Transformed the World and Now Must Transform Itself

I purchased Steel 2050 in hopes of gaining a better understanding about the steel industry. What I expected was a book that would be complicated; however, I was pleasantly surprised by how non-technical and reader-friendly this book has been written. Rod Beddows does a lovely job of breaking the content into short sections that are both comprehensive and interesting. The information is easy to understand and really makes you think critically about the importance of the steel industry. I love the modern day approach, and found the use of graphs and charts, supporting the information, to be informative and helpful as well.I would highly recommend Steel 2050 for those who have advance knowledge in the steel industry, for those who are starting new careers, and/or anyone who is simply curious and wants to know more about the industry. This book offers a modern day perspective and will actually take you on an adventure. 5 Stars.

This book should appeal to all those that know the steel industry, as well as those that don't. It has many important and far-reaching messages. Rod Beddows writes the book as an economist but does himself an injustice as he is also a philosopher, historian and storyteller (if not more) and the reader will learn a lot about the economics of steel, the philosophy of the sector as it has evolved, much about its history, and there are many pertinent stories that he shares.Rod Beddows has been involved with the steel industry for 40 years and claims to have written the book that he would have liked to read when he started in the industry in 1974. As he points out in the book, steel or the various forms of iron that preceded steel have been around in one form or another since the 18th century, yet the magnitude of change in the last 20 years let alone the last 40 have been enormous. He contends that we will see even greater changes in the future.Before building to his conclusions and thoughts for the future, he addresses the issues of overcapacity, price and volume volatility, excessively high raw material costs, unfair competition and a lack of consolidation.Whilst claiming not to be a technologist, he has a firm grip of steel process routes, the development of the blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace as principal steelmaking routes and the emergence more recently of the electric arc furnace, which he sees rising in importance and increasing its penetration quite significantly by 2050. He has a firm grip also of yield improvement and its impact over the years. He relates technological improvements through to their commercial implications and addresses the impact of rising costs and the improvements that can and need to be made in the industry's working capital. He also addresses the often mentioned issue of the availability of raw materials.He has quite a lot to say about forecasting, and a fair amount to say about China and India. He also looks beyond these two countries and identifies the next 20 countries, which collectively will very soon be much larger than China and India combined by population and economic measures, and where the potential of some of these countries is not always fully recognised today.He also has a lot to say about the inefficiencies of the steel sector particularly the service levels or more specifically the lack of service levels that the industry has not delivered over the last 40 years. He shows various examples of steel delivery performance. There is one memorable picture of a car with three wheels, used by one steel customer to demonstrate the 75% deliveryperformance that he received regularly from one of his main suppliers. Would you for example be willing to accept a car with three wheels? Would you find it acceptable if only 75% of the flights you took ever made it to their destination? Not surprisingly, Rod argues that the steel industry has a massive opportunity to improve customer service. He does not say that this will be easy, but that it is possible, and not only possible but essential for the industry to survive and prosper. For grow it will, and the scale and nature of the growth may surprise many.This is a very comprehensive book. It goes into some quite involved technical, commercial and economic detail at times. Despite this, it is generally easy to follow. Some knowledge of steel will be useful but not essential to grasp the book's messages. The book indeed covers much more than steel. It is also an essay on times past, present and future, the vagaries of forecasting, with a summary of political and economic systems, and a sprinkling of philosophy thrown in for good measure.Most importantly, it conveys a deep understanding of the core story of steel and its role in the evolution of our world, its history and its future. Rod Beddows contends that steel is an absolutely essential part of the development of modern economies, and that no effective substitutes are likely to be found in the horizon of his book (for reasons that he explains).The book brings a positive optimism about the sector that has often been lacking. Steel 2050, How Steel Transformed the World and Now Must Transform Itself, is highly recommended.

I would never normally have been interested in a book about steel! I mean unless I was going to work with it of course!However I was drawn to this as a family member now sadly deceased was in the industry for many years and was Master Cutler in Sheffield as well as a board member of British Steel.The funny thing is.. I found I do work with steel! Every day in ways I never imagined.. every time I get on my bicycle! Who knew the importance! And how steel transformed horse riding by the invention of stirrups!This book makes such an informative and interesting read that if you have no idea what to pick up next try this! Honestly you will not be disappointed and I dare you not to learn some amazing facts!I should mention I rather enjoyed the snippets of information regarding the author unlike a previous reviewer. A refreshing informative read!

Interesting insights into the upcoming demand for steel worldwide for the next few decades.

Best book on steel that I have read. Should be ready by CEO's/Investors through to new entrants into the sector. It is not only informative, but also an entertaining and easy read.I have been in or associated with the sector since 1986 and wish I had, had a book of this breadth, depth, quality and insight at each turn of my career, especially at the start, but it just as relevant and needed now.If the industry just follows some of Rod's suggestions there is hope for all.I am the co founder of SBB (Steel Business Briefing) and TSI (The Steel Index) and the former chairman/CEO of the SBB Group, now owned by McGraw Hill. I am currently the non executive chairman of Kallanish Ltd, so know a fair bit about the sector overall.Patrick Flockhart