The steel industry is critical to the U.S. economy. Steel is the material of choice for many elements of construction, transportation, manufacturing, and a variety of consumer products. Traditionally valued for its strength, steel has also become the most recycled material, with two-thirds of U.S. steel now produced from scrap.

The U.S. steel industry is a more than $50 billion enterprise, and additional downstream processing pushes the value closer to $75 billion. The industry accounts for nearly 10% of the global raw steel market, providing over 107 million net tons in 2003. Large quantities of low-cost imports have challenged the industry in recent years, but restructuring, downsizing, and widespread implementation of new technologies have led to vastly improved labour productivity, energy efficiency, and yield.

As a result of industry consolidation, the number of steelmaking facilities has decreased significantly over the last few decades. As of 2005, around 85 companies were producing raw steel at almost 140 locations. The absolute number of integrated mills producing steel in basic oxygen furnaces has always been relatively small and is currently at around 20. The highest geographic concentration of mills is in the Great Lakes region, including Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York. Approximately 80% of US steelmaking capacity is in these states. The industry employs more than 100,000 people nationwide.

The US steel industry is vital to both economic competitiveness and national security. Steel is the backbone of bridges, skyscrapers, railroads, automobiles, and appliances. More than 3,000 catalogue grades of steel are currently available, not including custom grades for specific users. Most grades of steel in use today - particularly high-strength steels that are lighter and more versatile - were not available ten years ago.