China currently produces more crude steel than any other country in the world. This book, by an internationally acknowledged expert on the world steel industry, covers all aspects of the steel industry in China. It begins with an outline of the existing steel plants and smaller mills and describes four major mergers in the industry, which indicate a trend toward the consolidation of smaller plants into larger integrated units. Hogan analyzes the major steel markets—including the automotive industry, shipbuilding, appliances, railroads, construction, containers, and oil and gas—in terms of their recent growth, and examines China's raw-materials output. He presents new technologies being developed and used, and discusses the future of the Chinese steel industry.
Hogan successfully argues, using historical and current data (much of it difficult to obtain), that one of the centers of recent Chinese industrial strength is its steel industry, which should be watched carefully. Steel industry analysts and scholars of global industry and economics will find this book invaluable.