The graph on the right shows the rise in steel production since 1900. We have also witnessed a significant shift in the geography of steel making. Since the late 1960s there has been a levelling off of the rate of growth in steel production which is partly attributable to greater efficiency in the use of steel and less waste. There have also been developments in the lighter weighting of steel products which have contributed to the environmental efficiency of the material and helped to open new markets as well as retain existing ones. Steel making processes have also shown significant progress, from the Bessemer Converter at the turn of the century to the introduction in the 1950s of oxygen conversion processes and continuous casting in the 1960s.
Steel can rightfully boast that it is one of the most recycled of all industrial materials.
Recycled material is used in all steel production. A strong material with a strong future. Continuing to provide benefits to society through safe, environmentally responsible and durable products. So the more recent the data, the more reliable. For example, only in the last few years has it been possible to get reliable data from the formerly centrally planned economies.