How does steel shape society?

Steel is a fundamental element of our everyday lives, no matter where you are or what industry you a part of. Look out the window and you can see it in the buildings we live in, the cars we drive or even the gadgets we use. There is a symbiotic relationship between steel industry and the markets it serves.

Steel in construction

The most obvious one would be construction. It’s hard to imagine a world without magnificent skyscrapers, gigantic tunnels or sea-spanning bridges, and they are all made possible with the advent of steel. Durable, malleable and relatively cheap, steel offers architects, designers and developers an unlimited number of possibilities to work with.

Steel is also lightweight and can be cut to suit any size requirement from a lamp post to a cross-country train track. This versatility gives the construction industry a reliable material to work with that they know will not degrade over time and can survive in even the most hostile of conditions. It’s no surprise then that the fortunes of steel in the marketplace are tied to how well the construction industry fares, and vice-versa.

Steel in transport

Likewise, the automotive and transport industries have strong historical and financial ties to steel. Steel is a fundamental element of modern vehicles, making them more durable and safer to drive in. Their ruggedness also allows for exploration of previously unreachable parts of land and air – even deep seas.

The strength-to-weight-ratio afforded by steel has revolutionised transport. It has paved the way for better fuel efficiencies in cars, more carriage capabilities in airplanes, and more speed for locomotives. New innovations are occurring in steel fabrication all the time at an accelerated rate, and even today we are seeing lighter, faster and stronger automotive vehicles being used all over the transport industry than we could have imagined even ten years ago.

The transport industry is a part of every conceivable industry that operates in the modern world, including manufacturing, mining, the military and mass transit. Changes in the steel industry are acutely, if silently, felt in every industry that transport plays a part in, so analysts are always on the lookout for market volatility. For example, a sharp increase in the price of steel in one market may have a knock-on effect on the cost of manufacturing new trains designed to carry containers of food to another market, driving up the price years down the track.

ShapeCUT thinks about the possibilities and potential of steel all the time, while working with our suppliers in the steel industry. To find out what we can make steel do for you, contact ShapeCUT today.