Benefits of Increased Use of Continuous

Casting by the U.S. Steel Industry

October 1979

NTIS order #PB80-104907
BENEFITS OF

INCREASED USE

OF CONTINUOUS

CASTING BY THE

U.S. STEEL

INDUSTRY

A TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM

OCTOBER 1979

Technical memoranda are issued by OTA on specific subjects analyzed

in recent reports or on projects presently in process at OTA. These are

issued at the request of Members of Congress

committee legislative actions which are expected

OTA completes its assessment.

who are engaged in

to be resolved before

CONGRESS OF

THE UNITED STATES

Office of Technology Assessment

WASHINGTON D C 20510
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-600177

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock No. 052-003-00713-4
PREFACE

The Office of Technology Assessment is examining several sectors of U.S.

industry in an effort to understand the factors contributing to a strong competitive position for U.S. industry in world markets. Our study of the “Competitiveness of the U.S. Steel Industry” will be the first of these assessments.

This Technical Memorandum on continuous casting in the U.S. steel industry was prepared prior to the issue of the full steel assessment (scheduled for

January 1980) at the request of Sen. John Heinz, Rep. Joseph M. Gaydos,

Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucas, and Rep. Charles A. Vanik,

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and

Means.

The memorandum first describes continuous casting, contrasting it with

the older ingot casting process. The memorandum then explains the advantages

of the continuous casting process, contrasts the rate of adoption of this technology in the U.S. steel industry with that in foreign steel industries, and examines

the levels of continuous casting that the United States might reach in 1990. The

factors that have constrained the greater adoption of continuous casting in the

United States are briefly discussed and the economic costs and benefits of converting existing capacity to this new process are analyzed.

This memorandum does not discuss the more advanced technologies for

steelmaking that would be applicable only in the longer term. Nor do we analyze congressional policy options that could assist the U.S. steel industry to improve its technical and economic performance. These analyses will appear in

the complete steel assessment.

JOHN H. GIBBONS

Director
Advisory Panel

Steel Industry Assessment

Dr. Gordon Geiger, Chairman

Professor and Head

Department of Metallurgical

Engineering

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Mr. Edmund Ayoub

Research Director

United Steelworkers of America

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mr. Howard O. Beaver

President

Carpenter Technology Corporation

Reading, Pennsylvania

Mr. James Cannon

Research Director

Citizens for a Better Environment

San Francisco, California

Mr. Robert W. Crandall

Senior Fellow

The Brookings Institution

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Milton Deaner

Vice-President - Engineering

National Steel Corporation

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dr. Stewart G. Fletcher

Senior Vice-President

American Iron & Steel Institute

Washington, D. C.

Mr. William B. Hudson

Executive Vice-President

Planning and Development

The McKee Corporation

Cleveland, Ohio

Mr. Robert R. Irving

Senior Technical Editor

Iron Age Magazine

Radnor, Pennsylvania

NOTE: The Advisory Panel provides

but the members do not necessarily

Mr. F. Kenneth Iverson

President

NUCOR Corporation

Charlotte, North Carolina

Ms. Betty Jardine

League of Women Voters

New Orleans, Louisiana

Dr. Ruth Macklin

The Hastings Center

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

Mr. Peter F. Marcus

First Vice-President and Director

Paine, Webber, Mitchell, Hutchins, Inc.

New York, New York

Ms. Mary Ann Ritter

Assistant Manager

Purchasing Forward Planning

and Research

General Motors Corporation

Detroit, Michigan

Mr. Roger E. Shields

Vice-President, Economics Department

Chemical Bank

New York, New York

Reverend Edward A. Stanton

Director, Human Development -

Social Action

Diocese of Youngstown Catholic Charities

Youngstown, Ohio

Ms. “Caroline Ware

Member of Board

National Consumers League

Vienna, Virginia

advice and comment throughout the assessment,

approve, disapprove, or endorse the report

for which OTA assumes full responsibility.
COMPETITIVENESS OF THE U.S. STEEL INDUSTRY PROJECT STAFF

Lionel S. Johns, Assistant Director

Energy, Materials, and Global Security Division

Henry Kelley, Technology and International Relations Program Manager

Audrey Buyrn, Materials Program Manager

Joel S. Hirschhorn, Project Director

Antoinette Kassim

Helena Hassell
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This document was prepared in conjunction with OTA'S assessment on

the Impact of Technology on the Competitiveness of the U.S. Steel Industry.

Valuable comments on early drafts of this technical memorandum were given by:

Mr. Milton Deaner

Vice-President for Engineering

National Steel Corporation

Dr. Stewart G. Fletcher

Senior Vice-President

American Iron and Steel Institute

They do not necessarily approve, disapprove, or endorse the report.

Additionally, three contractor reports prepared for the OTA assessment

of the Impact of Technology on the Competitiveness of the U.S. Steel Industry

were used as sources of information for this memorandum: These contractors

were:

George R. St. Pierre and Associates

Columbus, Ohio

Arthur D. Little Inc.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sterling Hobe Corp.

Washington, D. C.
CONTENTS

Introduction . . .

What is Continuous

....9 ● m .

Casting? . . .

The Benefits of Continuous Casting

U.S. and Foreign Rates of Adoption

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of Continuous

Potential Level of Adoption for the U.S. . . . .

Economic Costs and Benefits . . . . . . . . . .

Issues Facing Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix A--Use of Ferrous Scrap . . . . . . . .

TABLES

I. Percent Raw Steel Continuously Cast . . .

II. Survey of Continuous Casting Output . .

III. Economic Costs and Benefits of Adopting

IV. U.S. Steel Industry Profits as a Percent

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of Stockholder’s Equity 29

FIGURES

1. Typical Cross-Section and Dimensional Characterists . . . . . . . 23

2. Continuous Casting Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

3. The Diffusion of Continuous Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Although continuous casting was conceived and patented in 1865 by

Sir Henry Bessemer, one of the original

it was many years until its engineering

and the process commercialized. In the

founders of modern steelmaking,

and equipment problems were solved

.

early 1960’s significant amounts

of steel began to be continuously cast in a number of the world’s steel

industries. Today continuous casting is the preferred choice in new

steelmaking plants, although there are still some types of steel which have

not been converted from the older ingot casting method to continuous casting.

This analysis will examine the costs and benefits of implementing more

continuous casting in the United States, as well as its potential for

helping to solve many of the problems confronting the domestic steel industry.

WHAT IS CONTINUOUS CASTING?

To appreciate fully the substantial benefits of continuous casting

it is necessary to review some aspects of modern steelmaking and the

older process of ingot casting. In both processes, molten steel (usually

called a “heat”) is prepared

or an electric furnace. The

in an oxygen furnace, an open-hearth furnace

molten steel is next transferred in a ladle to

either a nearby ingot or continuous casting facility. Various types of

ingots are prepared, in both processes, depending on the size and shape

of the final steel products to be manufactured. Three types of ingots are

made: billets, blooms and slabs (see Figure 1.) Slabs are used to make

plate and other flat products. Billets and blooms are used to make

structural shapes, round products and tubes. In traditional ingot casting,

billets are often made from blooms by a rolling operation.

52-059 3 - 79 - 2
-2-

In ingot casting a heat of molten steel is poured into one or more

relatively large rectangular molds. After solidification of the steel

the ingot molds are mechanically “stripped” or pulled away from the ingot.

In the next step the ingots are placed in tightly covered soaking pits.

The pits are heated in order to raise the temperature of the ingot. The

ingots are then rolled to the desired shape in a primary rolling mill.

Relatively long times may be required in the soaking pits to achieve the

correct uniform temperature throughout the ingot. The total time required,

from ingot casting to rolling of the semi-finished shape (slab, bloom or

billet) can be seven or more hours.

The continuous casting process replaces these separate steps of

ingot casting, mold stripping, heating in soaking pits and primary rolling

with one operation. In some cases, continuous casting also replaces reheating

and rerolling steps. An example of a typical continuous casting apparatus

is shown in Figure 2. The basic concept in continuous casting is the use

of an open ended mold to cast an indefinite length of the desired crosssectional shape. The molten steel solidifies from the outer cooled surfaces

inward during the casting process, so that finally a fully solid slab, bloom

or billet is produced which can then either be processed in a secondary

rolling mill or shipped as a semi-finished steel product. While there are

many designs of continuous casting machines, the basic feature of all is

their one-step nature: liquid steel is continuously converted into semifinished, solid steel shapes. Clearly, long production runs of a particular

product are made easier and more efficient with continuous casting.
-3-

THE BENEFITS OF CONTINUOUS CASTING

The main benefits of continuous casting over ingot casting are

discussed

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in the following pages:

considerable energy savings

less scrap produced, i.e. improved yield

improved labor productivity

improved quality of steel

reduced pollution

reduced capital costs

increased use of purchased scrap when

output is maximized.

Energy Savings and Increased Yield The continuous casting process

saves energy directly through the elimination of energy intensive steps

and indirectly through increased yield. The elimination of soaking pits,

reheating furnaces and primary rolling mills reduces the consumption of

fuels (natural gas, oil and in-plant by-product gases) and electricity.

This energy saving is approximately one million BTU’s per ton cast. In

Japan, where one half of all steel is produced by the continuous casting

process, the direct energy saving is apparently about 50% of that used

in traditional ingot casting.

Energy is also saved by the substantial increase in yield attained

by the continuous casting process. Yields are increased by at least 10

to 12%, and 15 to 20% in some cases. The increase in yield comes from

reduction in scrap generation. End losses, a natural consequence of

treating individual ingots, are eliminated and oxidation losses are
-4-

reduced because of reduced exposure of hot steel to air. In addition,

the simplicity and better control of the continuous casting process

leads naturally to improved

that more shipped steel can

steel. For example, if the

molten steel one additional

overall efficiency. Increase in yield means

be obtained with a given amount of molten

yield increase is 10%, then for 10 tons of

ton of shipped steel results. All the energy

normally used to product this “extra” ton of steel has been saved, including

mining of ores and converting coal to coke. The average energy saving

because of increased yield amounts to about two million BTU’s per ton

continuously cast. The sum of direct and indirect energy saving is thus

three million BTU’s per ton cast, corresponding to a significant cost

saving.

These energy savings are averages of many types of steels. Actual

savings may differ considerably from case to case. However, the energy

savings reported above are probably conservative. For example, one detailed

analysis showed a saving of 5.5 million BTU’s per ton cast for the

traditional integrated steelmaking route of blast furnace (to make iron)

and basic oxygen furnace (to make steel), and 2.6 million BTU’s for the

1) route used by non-integrated mills of scrap fed electric furnaces.

It is probably safe to say that the total energy savings because of

continuous casting is normally equal to about 10% of the total energy used

to make finished steel products.

1) This analysis assumes an increase in yield of 10%, which iS probably

conservative; this will be discussed at greater length at a later point.

The analysis was by J. E. Elliott, in The Steel Industry And the

Energy Crisis, J. Szekely, cd., Marcel Dekker, N.Y., 1975, PP. 9-33.
-5-

It should also be noted that a comprehensive NATO study and

survey of steel industry experts throughout the world, which considered

41 energy-conserving measures for steelmaking, concluded that continuous

casting had the best combination of potential for energy conservation

1) and return on investment.

Improved Labor Productivity The increase in labor productivity

with continuous casting results from elimination of the many steps of

ingot casting, all of which demand direct labor input. The U.S. Department

of Labor reports that 10 to 15% less labor is required for continuous

2) casting. Increase in productivity also results from the increase in

yield and greater tonnage of shipped steel, improved working conditions

and from reduction in production time from seven or more hours to one to

two hours from pouring of molten steel to production of semi-finished

forms. Advances have recently been made in eliminating time losses when

products of different size or composition must be made sequentially,

Improved Quality of Steel Most industry personnel report an

improvement in quality of some continuously cast steels. The reduced

number of steps and greater automatic control of the process both lead to

fewer defects in the steel. There have been steady improvements in the

process, particularly in the production of slabs for flat products requiring

high surface quality.

1) NATO/CCMS-47, 1977, The Steel Industry.

2) U.S. Department of Labor, BLS Bulletin 1856, 1975, p. 4.

52-059 0 - 79 - 3
-6-

Reduced Pollution It is generally recognized that continuous casting

reduces pollution. The soaking pits and reheating furnaces are eliminated;

less energy is required; reduced energy requirements leads, to less pollution

produced. Hot steel is exposed to the atmosphere for a shorter time,

producing fewer airborne particulate. The yield is increased which means

that less primary steelmaking is required for agreater level of shipped

steel. This means less coke manufacture in integrated plants using blast

furnaces; coking is the largest source of pollution in steelmaking, particularly of toxic substances.

Reduced Capital Costs Although it is difficult to substantiate

a reduction in capital costs with actual cost figures, it is generally

agreed that capital costs are reduced because of the elimination of molds

and stripping equipment, soaking pits, reheating furnaces and primary

rolling mills. A study by Resources for the Future of five new steel

technologies concluded that continuous casting had the greatest potential

for cost saving. Their assumption of no technological limitations is more

1) true today than in 1976. Their model recommended the adoption of

continuous casting for both new facility capacity expansion and substitution

of existing ingot casting.

Increased Use of Purchased Scrap If it is assumed that the increase

in yield is taken advantage of by maintaining molten steel production,

and that adequate downstream facilities are available for processing of the

1) The other four technologies were: scrap preheating, direct reduction

based on natural gas, coal gasification for direct reduction and cryogenic

shredding of automobile derived scrap. W. Vaughan et al., Government

Policies and the Adoption of Innovations in the Integrated Iron and Steel

Industry, 1976.
-7-

semi–finished forms, then more purchased scrap is required. Increased yield

causes less in-plant scrap to be produced, Normally this “home” scrap

would be recycled back to the steelmaking furnace or blast furnace, or

both. In order to maintain plant liquid iron to scrap ratios, purchased

scrap must replace the lost home scrap (see Appendix A).

To understand the potential of continuous casting to modernize the

domestic steel industry and improve the U.S. competitive position in steel,

it is instructive to consider the extent to which continuous casting has

been adopted in other countries. The disturbing fact is that the U.S.

has fallen behind almost all the steel industries of the world in

adoption of continuous casting. For example, in 1978 Japan reached a level

of use of 50%, that is, 50% of the first steel made in a basic oxygen,

open–hearth or electric furnace (“raw” or “crude” steel) was continuously

cast. The European Community in 1978 continuously cast 29% of its steel.

However, in 1978 the U.S. was at a level of only 14% use of this beneficial

technology.

Summary data on the percent adoption levels of continuous casting

for several nations are given in Figure 3 and Table I. More complete

data for a greater number of nations, in terms of actual tonnage as well

as percent usage, are given in Table 11.

The data reveal that the U.S. has a very low level of continuous

casting. The only major foreign steel industry with a lower level of

continuous casting than the U.S. is the Soviet Union’s, and that is explained
-8-

by their unusual commitment to the open-hearth process which does not

readily interface with continuous casting equipment. The energy-intensiveness

of the Soviet iron and steel industry is suggested by its 13% share of

total energy consumption, compared to about 3% for the

considered a consequence, in part, of their low use of

The high rate of adoption of continuous casting

Us., and must be

continuous casting.

by many countries,

particularly the Japanese, is explained by the considerable expansion of

their steel industries in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. When new steel

plants are constructed there is little choice but to select continuous

casting. Its benefits are compelling. More recent construction of steel

plants in third world nations has also revealed the unequivocal advantages

of continuous casting.

The most important factor explaining the low rate of U.S. adoption

of continuous casting is the low rate of construction of new steel plants

during the past several decades. It is true that the substantial number of

new small, non-integrated steel plants using scrap fed electric furnaces

(“mini-mills”) built in the U.S. after World War II usually process all their

steel by continuous casting. However, this segment of the industry represents

only about 12% of domestic tonnage.

The main issue confronting the domestic steel industry with regard to

greater adoption of continuous casting is: can replacement of existing

ingot casting facilities with continuous casting be justified economically.

Although one integrated steel company, McLouth, replaced all its ingot

casting with continuous casting, and another, National Steel, has embarked

on such a course (by late 1980 it will process 40% of its steel in this

manner), most of the large integrated domestic steel companies have not

pursued this strategy. However, just recently CF&I Steel Corporation has

announced its intention to increase from 18% to 100% its use of continuous

casting by replacement of its ingot facilities.
-9-

The domestic steel industry has resisted using its limited amount

of discretionary capital for investments in continuous casting. It has

instead used its capital for several alternative types of investment:

(1) The industry has become increasingly focused on short-range capital

projects with payback periods of one to two years. Capital is used to

finance incremental technological improvements which minimize capital

expenditures as well as the time necessary for implementation. (2) There

are other major capital projects that offer a greater return on investment

than continuous casting in older integrated plants which have lagged the

industry in modernizing. For example, old open-hearth steelmaking

furnaces are still being replaced by either basic oxygen or electric

steelmaking furnaces. (3) The industry has used capital to repair or replace

worn out equipment. (4) There have also been some major diversions of capital

out of steelmaking. This is generally justified by the industry on the basis

of the poor profitability of the steel business or the need to compensate

for the cyclic nature of the steel business. (5) The industry has claimed

that much of their capital must be spent for equipment to meet state and

federal environmental and worker health and safety regulations.

Other reasons cited by the U.S. steel industry for not replacing

more ingot casting with continuous casting are: (1) the difficulty of

justifying replacement of operational ingot casting facilities that have

not been fully depreciated; (2) costs and difficulties of substantially

modifying an operating plant; (3) additional capital requirements for

downstream facilities to process increased semi–finished steel production;

(4) technical problems with some types of steels and, in some cases,

relatively small production runs; (5) difficulties in expediting EPA
-10-

permits, and costs of modifying other facilities which EPA may demand

before granting construction permits for continuous casting; and

(6) uncertainties surrounding the degree of competition that may result

from imported steel.

Any examination of the degree of adoption of new technologies

by the domestic steel industry inevitably brings comparisons with the

Japanese steel industry which is generally accepted to be the most modern

and efficient in the world. Moreover, much of the steel imported into

this country is from Japan (approximately 30% in 1978) and Japan has

an extremely large fraction of the world steel export market (about 25% to 30%

in recent years). During the past several years the Japanese have maintained

a steady stream of public announcements concerning their continued high

adoption of continuous casting and its importance in explaining their very

successful campaign to reduce energy consumption in steelmaking and increase

the yield of their steelmaking operations. Their success is indicated by

the absence of price increases during the past two years even though their

energy costs have soared (however, profit levels have decreased, see below).

Although much of the increased use of continuous casting by the

Japanese has been related to their steel industry expansion, in more

recent years they have also pursued a replacement strategy. Their goal

of 70% production using continuous casting within a few years will probably

be met. This increase is even more remarkable in view of a number of

negative factors facing their industry; these factors include low rates

of capacity utilization (about 70% compared to 85 to over 90% for the

U.S. industry); the closing of many older facilities; continued loss of

world export markets; and very low profit levels. The main reason
-11-

why these adverse factors have not impeded greater continuous casting

adoption is the channeling of capital at very favorable interest rates to

the Japanese steel industry by the complex Japanese government and

banking system.

POTENTIAL LEVEL OF ADOPTION FOR THE U.S.

Although the data of Figure 3 and Table I and II clearly show

the relatively low level of continuous casting usage in the U.S., the

real issue is: how much continuous casting could and should be adopted

by the domestic steel industry, and in what time frame?

There can, of course, be no simple calculation performed to

determine unequivocally how much continuous casting the domestic steel

industry should use. At best we can examine the feasibility of several

possibilities. First, we believe it appropriate to set the time frame.

Considering the large size of the domestic industry, the long lead times

for construction, the problems of capital availability and the possible

need for federal assistance which would require extensive Congressional

deliberation, 1990 is a realistic goal for substantial expansion of

domestic continuous casting capacity.

With regard to the level of continuous casting to aim for, it

it appears that levels of from 25% to 50% are feasible and that 50%

is necessary to achieve even minimum competitiveness on the international

market. The 25% level has been suggested in several recent analyses of

the steel industry. However this level reflects nothing more than

extrapolation of the past adoption rate for the industry to about 1990.
-12-

Even attaining this modest goal could be frustrated by a continued

“cost-price squeeze” and substantial capital shortfalls, resulting from

increasing production costs and government limits on prices.

Although it is not possible to examine fully in this analysis

the economic health of the domestic steel industry, it should be appreciated

that the industry has been experiencing severe economic problems. For

example, the industry capacity has been falling; in the past two years

there has been a loss of two million tons or 1.5% of total raw steel capacity

per year. Because of low, but steady, increases in domestic consumption

of steel, this has led to increasing dependence on foreign imports. In the

past two years imports have accounted for 18% of domestic consumption, and

if imported steel in the form of finished non-steel products, such as

automobiles, is considered, then imports are even higher. As a consequence,

the U.S. is the only major industrialized nation dependent on steel imports,

since for the past two years the domestic steel industry has operated at

virtually full capacity.

Much of the imported steel has been traded at artificially low

prices. This situation stems from the fact that many foreign steel

industries are directly or indirectly state owned, notably the British,

French and Italian who accounted for 3.2%, 8.3% and 3.7% of our imports

in 1978. Hence, when the world steel market is depressed, as it has been

in recent years, these steel industries can be used to accomplish national

objectives such as maintaining employment rather than making reasonable

1) profits from steel sales. As a result, relatively low priced imports

1) 11 At present export price levels, exporting is losing the West’s steel

producers about $4 billion per year!" World Steel Dynamics, Peter F. Marcus

and Karlis M. Kirsis, September, 1979.
-13-

hold domestic prices at levels which prevent accumulation of enough capital

to modernize or expand the industry.

Although imports are certainly not the sole cause of obsolete

facilities, it is generally accepted that the domestic steel industry

has one of the world’s highest proportions of obsolete facilities,

probably in the order of 20 to 25%. One major indication of the modernity

and competitiveness of a steel industry is the national yield (shipped

steel tonnage divided by raw steel tonnage). For 1978 the U.S.

yield was 71.5%, while the Japanese yield was 89.4%. One of the chief

determinants of the yield is the amount of continuous casting employed. 1)

Calculations have shown that if the continuous casting usage was increased

to 25% for the U.S. the yield would probably increase to 74%. This would

be considered a significant improvement and difficult, or impossible to

achieve by any other means, other than by constructing totally new steel

plants. Yet if this 25% level were achieved by 1990, the U.S. would still

be behind most of the world’s steel industries.

A 50% level of adoption is physically achievable in the U.S. by

1990; that is, there are no engineering or technological reasons why this

level could not be attained. OTA calculations have shown that at this level

2) of adoption the national yield could be increased to at least 76%.

The 50% goal can be supported by the following factors:

1) Even at comparable rates of continuous casting usage the Japanese steel

industry would have a higher yield (expressed as the ratio of shipped steel

to raw steel) than the U.S. industry for several reasons, including:

a generally more modern and newer physical plant; the shipment of steel

which undergoes substantial finishing by customers; and a product mix which

include less sheet steel than the U.S.

2) This yield of 76% may appear to be lower, especially relative to that

of the Japanese, as noted previously; but we have not assumed any large

scale closing of older U.S. steel plants which would increase the base yield

for the industry at the expense of a capacity loss.
-14-

o in 1974 when the domestic industry was doing exceptionally

well a forecast made by A. D. Little on the basis of

a survey of industry personnel concluded that by 1985

there would be a 53% usage of continuous casting;

o the Japanese and U.S. steel industries are similar enough

in product mix and size to suggest that if the Japanese can

produce 50% and probably 70% of their steel by continuous

casting, then a level of 50% for the U.S. industry is

technically feasible;

o in a survey conducted by OTA of steel industry personnel

this past year on future technological changes the

respondents projected a U.S. level of 54% adoption by

1990 and 74% by 2005;

o if appropriate federal policies were designed to

stimulate greater conversion to continuous casting, by

providing some means of obtaining the necessary capital,

then it would be economically feasible to obtain the 50%

usage level (greater details on costs

the next section).

One top executive for a major steel company who

information to the OTA assessment has suggested

for 1987 and 70% for 1990. Similarly, one long

will be given in

has provided much useful

feasible targets of 50%

time steel industry

analyst on Wall Street has just suggested that "the U.S. could get to

40 percent by 1985 if the money was available." l )

1) Charles Bradford of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, in

an interview in SteelWeek, September 24, 1979.
-15-

ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS

The economic justification for replacing existing ingot casting

facilities with continuous casting will now be examined. There are two key

areas to be discussed and quantified before proceeding to a calculation of

return on investment; these areas are: the significance of the increase in

yield with regard to new steelmaking capacity, and the direct

production costs savings provided by continuous casting.

Increased Capacity What has not been fully appreciated by some

steel industry and policy analysts is that continuous casting is a most

economical way to increase steelmaking capacity of existing plants for the

U.S. In the U.S., building new major integrated facilities appears impossible

under existing or projected economic conditions, and new mini-mills

will still represent relatively small tonnages. The substantial increase

in yield from raw steel to semi-finished steel associated with continuous

casting means that more steel can be shipped from a given amount of molten

steel. As noted earlier, although that increase in yield will be plant and

product specific, it is probably 10% to 12% for most cases and may go as

high as 15% to 20% in some situations.

In view of the large degree of equipment obsolescence, industry

contraction and steadily increasing domestic steel consumption, the benefits

to be gained from an economical way to increase the capacity of existing plants

are considerable, including the avoidance of increased dependence on

imports. Past experience such as in 1974 has shown that once dependence

on imports occurs and when the world supply of steel becomes tight, the

price of historically cheap imports escalates sharply and becomes a significant
-16-

inflationary factor in the domestic economy. ational security is also

affected, since it can be difficult to obtain required steel. Virtually

all current analyses point to considerable shortfalls in capital for the

domestic steel industry, a growing demand for steel in the years ahead

and a very tight world supply of steel by the mid to late 1980’s. Factors

promoting the latter include: continued contraction of Western European

steel industries, insufficient new capacity in third world countries to

meet their rapidly increasing demand, and likely insufficient domestic

1) capacity in Soviet bloc nations and the People’s Republic of China.

Although increased capacity because of improvement in yield is

a direct benefit of continuous casting, there is another “hidden” cost

to be considered. This arises from the costs of purchasing scrap metal

to substitute for scrap not generated by the continuous casting process.

In considering this factor we will make the following two assumptions:

1) liquid steel production remains constant; 2) adequate downstream processing

facilities for handling of the continuously cast semi-finished steel is

present or is put

The profit

ratio of the cost

in place.

of the additional shipped tonnage is determined by the

of the liquid steel to that of the purchased scrap.

The lower the cost of purchased scrap relative to in-plant costs to produce

the liquid steel, the greater the profit from the increase in yield and

capacity. This ratio is difficult to determine, varies with time and is

very plant specific. Since most liquid steel costs are associated with

1) See for example, CIA Reports: World Steel Market-Continued Trouble

Ahead, May, 1977; China; the Steel Industry in the 1970’s and 1990’s,

May, 1979; and The Burgeoning LDC Steel Industry: More Problems For Major

Steel Producers, July, 1979.
-17-

molten iron produced in blast furnaces owned by the steel company itself,

there is very little available information on the proper internal cost of

such “hot metal”. From many discussions with steel industry personnel

it has been determined that the cost of hot metal is typically in the

range of $120 to $180 per ton. Factors determining the cost include:

the age of equipment, the general efficiency of the plant operation,

capacity utilization, size of the blast furnaces, and whether or not the

company owns the sources of its raw materials. Although the price of scrap

varies considerably over time, it has generally been somewhat less than

$100 per ton. Another factor to consider is the normal operating profit

on steel shipments which would accrue to the additional steel shipments

from the increase in yield; this operating profit is typically $25 to $50

per ton. Because of the wide variations in all cost and

among companies and among plants of any one company, and

to make conservative estimates of returns on investments

profit figures

because we wish

we have used

the three levels of $25, $50, and $75 per ton benefit for additional

steel shipments due to the greater yield of continuous casting. In addition,

we will assume two levels for the increase in yield: 10% and 12%.

Reduced Production Costs Before proceeding to the return on

investment calculation however, an additional profit factor must be

considered: the reduction in production costs for all the steel

continuously cast. The primary cause of reduced production cost is the

decrease in energy consumption which we have already described, It is

noteworthy that ten years ago energy was approximately 10% of steelmaking
-18-

Cost s. Today it is over 20%. Because the price of energy and hence its

contribution to the costs of steelmaking appears destined to rise the

future importance of continuous casting as a cost reduction tool will

increase. Other nations, more sensitive to energy costs in the past

than the U.S., particularly Japan, have placed great emphasis on this

benefit of continuous casting. Because about one-third of the energy

saving from continuous casting for the domestic steel industry is

accounted for by reduced use of purchased electricity and fuels, such

as natural gas and oil, and the other two-thirds derived from in-plant

energy by-products could be put to other productive uses, the U.S.

steel industry must also turn to continuous casting or face a decline in

its competitive posture.

From many discussions with industry personnel the total reduction

in production costs resulting from reduced energy use, improved labor

productivity and reduced environmental costs amounts to approximately

$10 per ton cast for a typical plant.

Return on Investment

calculations for the return

The results of a complete set of

on investment for substitution of continuous

casting for ingot casting in existing integrated plants are given in

Table III. Three levels of capital costs have been used: $40, $60

and $80 per annual ton capacity for the casting equipment. These have

been chosen on the basis of limited published data and extensive discussions

with industry personnel. Even with what we believe to be relatively

conservative assumptions, the economic rewards are substantial, with a

return on investment of over 20% likely. At the 50% level of continuous
-19-

casting usage an industry yield of at least 76% could be attained. Again

it should be noted that both return on investment and yield will be

plant specific.

Assumed Growth in Raw Steel Production The calculations performed

above have assumed raw steel production remaining static at the 1978 level.

If we assume that domestic shipments could increase by 2% per year from

1978 to 1990, then 26.3 million more tons must be supplied. Of this,

5.9 million tons can be accounted for by the attainment of 50% continuous

casting on the 1978 base, leaving 20.4 million tons to be supplied by

additional raw steel capacity. If we assume that, at the margin, 75%

of this additional capacity will be made by continuous casting and a total

steelmaking yield of 80% compared to 70% for the remainder, then 26.5

million tons of raw steel capacity must be added. The net result would then

be that 54% of all the raw steel produced would be continuously cast. It

should be emphasized, however, that an increase in continuous casting will

substantially reduce the amount of new raw steelmaking capacity which must

be added under conditions of growth. Hence, total capital needs for the

industry would be much lower than would be calculated on the basis of

simply adding new steelmaking capacity. The 2% per year growth figure

could be criticized as too optimistic. However, if we note that there would

also be a continuation of capacity reduction due to obsolete facilities being

closed, requiring perhaps a 1% per year level of replacement, then this

calculation is not unreasonable for the time period used.

The major issue for Congress to consider is whether the domestic steel

industry will be able to increase its proportion of continuous casting to
-20 -

near the 50% level, the level needed for competitive parity with steel

industries of other countries. If our steel industry does reach

the 50% level of continuous casting, the energy savings for the nation will

be substantial, amounting to the equivalent of 25 million barrels of oil

per year less than consumed in 1978.

To help put this issue in perspective it is also necessary to

understand another dimension of the domestic steel industry’s economic

problems: the cyclical nature of the industry. This can be demonstrated

by a great many types of economic and financial data. To illustrate this

cyclic phenomenon as well as the comparatively poor economic performance

of the domestic steel industry relative to other American manufacturing

industries, data from 1950 to 1978 on industry profits as a percent of

stockholders’ equity are given in Table IV for the domestic primary iron

and steel industry together with averages for all domestic manufacturing

industries. In recent years the periodicity of the peak-to-trough steel

business cycle has been four years.

From these data, we see that 1979 will likely be a peak year.

If sufficient modernization of the industry does not take place during

the next decade, then by the next surge in steel demand in the late 1980’s

the industry will be severely lacking in competitive capacity. This

period may also coincide with a worldwide shortage of steel capacity

and high world demand. Thus, the nation could be especially vulnerable

to high priced and scarce steel imports.

The greater adoption of continuous casting by the domestic

steel industry cannot be considered a radical change or innovation.
-21-

It should be viewed as a near term technological fix, of particular

significance to the older, large integrated steel plants. But it is

neither a final nor a complete fix for the industry. At the very best,

the use of significantly more continuous casting will keep the industry

viable over the next decade. Ultimately more dramatic technological

improvements are needed to greatly reduce energy and other production

costs. There are distinct possibilities, but the analysis is beyond

the scope of the present paper. The final OTA steel industry assessment

report will examine advanced technologies.

It is also not feasible in this brief technical paper to review

all the current government policies affecting the steel industry or the

array of potential government actions which could assist the industry to

improve its technological and economic performance. On strictly technical

and economic grounds, however, we believe the present analysis offers

compelling reasons for the domestic steel industry to adopt more continuous

casting. As the steel industry begins in late 1979 and 1980 to experience

the down part of its business cycle, there will be great pressure put

on Congress to provide assitance in order to maintain employment and

capacity. The choice will likely be framed in terms of either reducing

regulatory costs, increasing protectionist trade practices, condoning

substantial price increases, or providing economic assistance through such

measures as the acceleration in depreciation schedules now being considered

by Congress in the form of the Jones-Conable Capital Cost Recovery Act

of 1979 (H.R. 4646). This Act would reduce the period for depreciation

of machinery to five years. This is a substantial improvement, from the
-22 -

industry’s perspective, over the original 18 years for equipment (14.5 years

with the Asset Depreciation Range system), and even over the recent

Treasury Department’s reduction to 15 years (12 years with ADR) which

the industry deemed inadequate. The problem with the accelerated

depreciation approach of H.R. 4646 is that all the capital spending projects

a steel company may have are rendered more attractive with accelerated

depreciation; that is, H.R. 4646 would not alter the relative positions of

alternative capital projects for both steel and non-steel projects of the

mostly diversified steel companies.

Since the diversification out of steel mentioned earlier continues

to be a serious issue, this is a significant problem and points to the need

for Congress to weigh the benefits of more technology specific federal

assistance for the steel industry against the risks of either providing

no assistance or in letting the steel industry choose how to use capital

made available in some way by government action. There are technological

options other than continuous casting which offer benefits to the industry;

however, thus far, the OTA assessment has not revealed an option that can

match the scope of the proven technical and economic benefits which

continuous casting can readily provide to most of the domestic steel

industry during the next decade.
-23-

FIGURE 1

TYPICAL CROSS-SECTION

AND

DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERISTICS”

SLAB

ALWAYS OBLONG

MOSTLY 2 TO 9 INCHES THICK

MOSTLY 24 TO 60 INCHES WIDE

BLOOM

SQUARE OR SLIGHTLY OBLONG

MOSTLY IN THE RANGE 6“ X 6= TO 12" X 12"

BILLET

MOSTLY SQUARE

MOSTLY IN THE RANGE 2" X 2" TO 5“ X 5“

● DIMENSIONS USUALLY GIVEN TO NEAREST ROUND NUMBER.

ALL CORNERS AR ROUNDED, AS SHOWN.

Comparison of the relative shapes and sizes of rolled

steel governing nomenclature of products of primarynd billet

mills. (Cast sections produced by continuous or bottom pressure

casting methods are similarly designated when of the same

general proportions and dimensions as their rolled counterparts.)

Source: The Making, Shaping and Treating of

Steel, U.S. Steel Corporation, 1971,
-24-

FIGURE 2

TUNDISH

TO INGOT SHEARING &

MOTORIZED PULL ROLL

CONTINUOUS CASTING APPARATUS 

Source: Technology Assessment and Forecast, Ninth Report, U.S. Department

of Commerce, March, 1979.
-25-

c“
———— —...

-26-

Table I

% Raw Steel Continuously Cast

Country

u. s .

Japan

Canada

Germany

France

Italy

U.K.

1969

Year

1975

2.9

4.0

11.8

7.3

0.6

3.1

1.8

9.1

31.1

13.4

24.3

12.8

26.9

8.4

1977

11.8

40.8

14• 7

34• o

23.6

37.0

12.6

1978

14.21)

2)

50.9

20.2

38.0

27.1

41.3

15.5

1)

2)

Assuming that non-integrated plants account for 12% of the U.S.

steel industry, their continuous casting usage is approximately

80% and accounts for 54% of the U.S. tonnage continuously cast,

while integrated plants have a usage of 7.3%. AISI has reported

that for the first half of 1979 the full industry usage rate was

16.1%.

A lower value of 46.2% has been reported by the International

Iron and Steel Institute; presumably this figure is for

calender 1978 while the 50.9% figure is for Japanese fiscal

1978 (April 1978-March 1979) and is indicative of the rapidly

increasing usage.

Sources: AISI, IISI, Japan Steel Information Center.
-27-

TABLE II

SURVEY OF CONTINUOUS CASTING OUTPUT

(1 973-1977)

1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 (P)

.

Belgium . .

Denmark . .

F.R. of Germany 8,057 16.3

Fmn- 1,845” 7.3

Italy 3,375

Luxemburg .

Netherlands .

United Kingdom (calendar) 832

Total OECD

Austria

Finland

Norway

Prrtugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Yugloslavia

Others

Total Western Europe

United States

Canada

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Mexico

Venezuela

Total Latin America

(Listed Countries\

USSR

Bulgaria

Czecoslovakia

Eastern Germany

Hungary

Poland

Romania

Total Eastern Europe

Australia

India

Japan

Republic of Korea

South Africa

14,159

505

1,256

120

E 2 8

2,038

569

.

.

.

. .

18,995

9,270

1,551

228

7

576

6,%8

.

92

398

59

309

.

858

133

24,716

. .

917

Total of listed Countries 64,219

Percentage of World Steel

Output Covered

18.1

.

.

“3.3

9.4

11.9

“ - 77.8

12.5

E 5.5

18.9

15.7

.

.

.

. .

10.6

6.8

11.6

“3.2

1.3

121

. .

6.3

.

0.7

6.8

1.8

2.2

●

1.8

17

207

16.0

9.7

95.3%

t

208

.

10.337

2,756

5,165

.

.

1,232

19,698

766

1,290

143

2,218

1,156

.

.

.

. .

25,301

10,722

1.873

574

379

9

650

1,612

7,355

.

91

481

422

320

●

1,314

223

29,411

1,105

78,916

95 .27

480

73

9,013

2,771

5,904

.

.

1,686

20,727

866

1,233

140

d:

1,390

.

.

330

27,054

9,653

l,735

565

477

7

695

1,744

9,729

.

m

525

775

332

.

1,701

47

31,808

● .

1,425

84.897

5

4.1

13.1

24.3

12.9

27.0

.

.

8.5

16.5

21.3

76.3

15.7

7.9

21.0

24.8

.

.

11.3

. .

17.5

9.1

13.3

25.6

5.7

1.4

13.2

10.0

“6.9

.

0.5

8.1

21.1

22

.

a

312

12.014

4,212

7,559

.

.

2,120

26,910

1,244

E %

69

2,493

1,451

.

.

398

. .

~

5.7

43.2

23.3

in.o

32.2

*

.

9.4

20,0

27.8

76.1

E16.9

15.0

22.7

28.2

.

14.5

. .

33,970 20.7

12,246 10.5

1,582 12.0

665 . 27.4

1,119 12.1

11 2.2

682 ‘ 12.9

2,477

11,729

.

107

566

1,019

297

.

3.3 1,959

0.6 -

31.1 E37,733

770

20.9 1,861

13.9 “ 104,357

13.5

8.1

.

0.7

8.4

27.9

1.9

.

3.7

.

35.1

21.9

26.2

16.2

94.5% 95.5%

1,656

347

13,272

5,209

&984

.

.

2,590

32,058

1,532

E 1,810

E 120

E 200

2,666

1,214

.

.

523

. .

40,623

E13,350

1,992

E 620

1,957

11

722

3,310

12,200

.

110

623

1,054

446

.

2,233

.

.

41,807

2,714

119,569

14.7

50.7

34.0

236

38.5

.

.

12.6

25.4

37.4

83.8

17.0

37.6

25.8

30.6

.

.

25.9

. .

26.1

E1l.8

14.7

E23.1

17.4

2.0

E13.O

15.9

8.3

“ 0.7

9.1

28.3

2.5

.

3.9

.

. .

408

32.0

37.1

18.7

Source: Iron and Steelmaker 1978,
Table III Economic Costs and Benefits of Adopting Continuous Casting (CC) 1)

Incr. Incr. In Total

in CC Energ y Steel Steel

Tonnag e Save d Incr. Shipped Shipments

(Thousands 1012 in (Thousands (Thousands

% cc of Tons) BTU Yield Tons) Tons)

25 14,800 44.1 0.10 1,480 99,415

0.12 1,776 99,711

50 49,058 147.2 0.10 4,906 102,841

0.12 5,887 103,822

2)

cc

New Capital

Industr y cos t

Yield $/ton

Total

cc

Capital

cost

$mill.

.73 40

40

60

60

.73 40

40

60

60

60

80

0.75 40

40

60

60

0.76 40

592

592

888

888

592

592

888

888

888

1,184

1,962

1,962

2,944

2,944

1,962

Deer.

cost/

Incr.

Profit3)

$/Ton

25

50

25

50

25

50

25

50

75

75

25

50

25

50

25

Total

4 )

Annual

Benefit

$mill.

185

222

185

222

192

237

192

237

281

281

613

736

613

736

638

Return

on

Investment

0.31

0.38

0.21

0.25

0.33

0.40

0.22

0.27

0.32

0.24

0.31

0.38

0.21

0.25

0.33

Payback

Period

yrs.

3.2

2.7

4.8

4.0

3.1

2.5

4.6

3.8

3.2

4.2

3.2

2.7

4.8

4.0

40 1,962 50 785 0.40

60 2,944 25 638 0.22 4.6

60 2,944 50 785 0.27 3.7

60 2,944 75 932 0.32 3.2

80 3,925 75 932 0.24 4.2

1)

2)

3)

4)

Base Case; 1978 CC usage = 14.2% or 19,458,000 net tons of 137,031,000 nets tons of raw steel production assumed to

remain constant; total domestic shipments = 97,935,000 net tons; yield = .715; all calculations done for replacement

of ingot casting in integrated (blast furnace-based) plants by CC.

Three levels of capital cost for CC have been used: $4O/ton is somewhat greater than recent expenditures by National

Steel for a major facility; $60/ton has often been quoted and may be appropriate in those situations where ingot casting

facilities to be replaced have not been fully depreciated or where more complex shapes are being cast; $80/ton is

undoubtedly a high cost estimate but may be realistic for those cases where downstream finishing facilities must be

added to take advantage of increased capacity resulting from a greater yield.

Decreasecost/incrcascd profit (for the increse steel shipped) resulting from the hot metal-purchased scrap

differential and the normal operating pofit. .

Total annual benefit is calculated on the basis of a $10/ton combined savings for the additional CC tonnage and the

product of the increase in steel tonnage shipped and the hot metal to scrap savings; the latter is undoubtedly a

crude but conservative estimate of the additional profit resulting from increased yield and capacity; there is substantial. company to company variation in both hot metal production cost and net income per ton shipped.
-29 -

TABLE IV

Year

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

UNITED STATES STEEL INDUSTRY PROFITS

AS A PERCENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUIy: 1950-78

(after taxes)

Return onI Equity

Primary Iron Steel All Manufacturing

14.3

12.3

8.5

10.7

8.1

13.5

12.7

11.4

7.2

8.0

7.2

6.2

5.5

7.0

8.8

9.8

10.3

797

7.6

7.6

4.3

4.5

6.0

9.5

16.9

10.9

9.0

0.1

7.3

15.4

12.1

10.3

10.5

9*9

12.6

12. 2

11.0

8.6

10.4

9.2

8.8

9.8

10.3

11.6

13.0

13.5

11.7

12.1

11.5

9*3

9.7

10.6

12.8

14.9

11.6

14.0

14.2

15.3

Note: The annual data represent the average Of the quarters in the year .

Source: Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Economics, Quarterly Financia l

Report, various years.
-30 -

Other than

steelmaking, whic h

use direct reduce d

Appendix A

Use of Ferrous Scrap

the increased use of electric arc furnaces for

usually use ferrous scrap but which could also

iron, the increased use of continuous casting is

an effective way to increase the use of purchased prompt industrial

1) and obsolete scrap. This new scrap consumption is based on increased

yield and the maintenance of the original level of hot metal production

(existing with ingot casting) and adequate downstream facilities. The

increased yield leads to less home scrap which must be replaced by purchased

scrap. Eventually much direct reduced iron could be used with scrap,

although today this is not commercially feasible on a large scale.

The 1978 National Energy Conservation Policy Act established

a means to set national targets for the use of recycled materials. For

the entire ferrous industry (including iron and steel making, foundries

and ferroalloy production) the target now being considered for 1987 is 41%

for purchased prompt industrial and obsolete scrap.

For the scenario of 50% continuous casting usage and a 12%

increase in yield the approximate amount of increased purchased scrap

would be 5,887,00 tons divided by an appropriate yield factor. If the

latter is assumed to be 0.92, then the scrap requirement is 6,399,000

tons. For the base year of 1978 the purchased scrap for iron and steel

making was 31,416,000 tons and the scrap utilization 32%. The new totals

would then be 37,815,000 tons of scrap purchased and 103,822,000 tons of

steel shipped . This signifies a new and substantially increased scrap

1) Direct reduced iron is made by a process which converts iron ore to solid

pure iron without the need for blast furnaces and coke ovens.Also, there

may be a slight decrease in scrap utilization in steelmaking furnaces when

continuous casting is used.This is done to increase the temperature of the

molten steel. However its effect is small compared to the noted increase

in purchased scrap.
-31-

utilization of 36%.

If an increase in raw steelmaking capacity is also considered

in order to satisfy a 2% per year increase in steel demand, as described

previously and it is assumed that 50% of the additional steelmaking is in

electric arc furnaces based on scrap usage, then the utilization rate

becomes 42%.

All three of the above scrap utilization rates (32% for 1978,

36% with increased continuous casting, and 42% with increased continuous

casting and expansion) are only for the iron and steel making segment

of the ferrous industry. It is unclear whether at this or some later

time the iron and steel making segment and individual companies would

be asked on a voluntary basis, as is now the case, or would be required on a

mandatory basis to meet the recycling target set for the entire ferrous

industry. It should also be noted that the target is not set in the

law. It is up to DOE to set and adjust the target according to various

guidelines.

If the foundry segment which uses approximately 90% scrap is

considered and the numerically small ferroalloy segment is ommitted,

then the three new scrap utilization rates for the entire ferrous

industry (assuming a static foundry segment) are: 40% for 1978, 44%

with increased continuous casting and 48% with increased continuous

casting and expansion.

Thus, the current target of 41% for 1987 being considered by

DOE has almost been met in 1978 and will almost certainly be met in

1979 due to the steadily increasing use of scrap based electric arc

furnaces. The increased use of continuous casting, in any case,

substantially increases the purchased scrap utilization rate for the
-32-

entire ferrous industry.

quality of the home scrap

However it should also be noted that the

which is being eliminated by the increased

continuous casting is very high. The greater use of prompt industrial

and obsolete scrap introduces more alloying and impurity elements which

can make the production of some steels more costly or even impossible.

This is a negative consequence of both increased use of contitnous casting

and the Energy Conservation Act. This Act could also be a barrier to

the development and use by integrated steel companies of coal based direct

reduction of iron ore, the product of which is substitutable for and

superior to scrap.

Additionally, both the Act and increased continuous casting usage

stimulates integrated companies to use more purchased scrap and promotes

scrap price increases. This effect could be quite negative for the

smaller, totally scrap based electric furnace steel companies ("mini-mlls").

Should this segment of the industry shrink because of such a profit squeeze

and more’ steel then be produced by integrated companies, the

net result would be less total purchased scrap and more energy consumed.

But this upward pressure on prices will be minimized and perhaps

eliminated if the smaller steel companies spur the use of direct reduction.

Although this could reduce the percent use of purchased scrap, it would

facilitate growth and expansion of these companies and eventually a net

increase in both the total amount of scrap consumed and the amount of

continuous casting in use.

o