A Tier 0.5 supplier makes parts or performs services the automakers did in-house in the past. The challenge for suppliers is not just working with the automakers but also collaborating with other suppliers. Ten years ago, OEMs had to go to several stampers for all the parts that Oxford can supply them now. Sometimes steel, service-center, and processor companies are partnering, as Worthington is with Bethlehem and U.S. Steel. It bothers me when mills and service centers are selling to the same customer but are at war with each other.
Fabricators try to bypass service centers to get discounted prices from the mills.
In the U.S., the mills sell secondary steel and small tonnages directly to the customer, bypassing the service centers. But mills, service centers, and processors need one another's help. If the different types of suppliers can't figure out how to cooperate and create the most efficient supply chain, the OEMs will do it for them.