Careers at United States Steel
Mission
US Steel produces and distributes a portfolio of steel products with a view to facilitating the operations of the Company’s industrial and commercial customers.
Business segments
US Steel organises its activities into three reportable business segments:
- Flat-Rolled Products, which includes the operating results of US Steel’s integrated steel plants and equity investees in the US involved in the production of slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets and tin mill products, as well as all iron ore and coke production facilities in the US;
- US Steel Europe, which includes the operating results of U. S. Steel Kosice, US Steel’s integrated steel plant and coke production facilities in Slovakia; and
- Tubular Products, which includes the operating results of US Steel’s tubular production facilities, primarily in the US, and equity investees in the US and Brazil. Including the production of seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing, standard and line pipe, and mechanical tubing.
History
US Steel was founded in 1901 by J. P. Morgan and Elbert H. Gary (“Gary”), the latter of whom served as the Company’s first Chairman. The Company established through a merger of various large steel businesses, notably Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company, Gary’s Federal Steel Company, and William Moore’s National Steel Company. In its first full year of operation, US Steel produced 67% of all the steel made in the US.
In the decades that followed, US Steel consolidated its various steelmaking and raw material subsidiaries and divisions through a series of reorganisations. In 1986 US Steel’s holdings were reorganised under the umbrella of USX Corporation, with US Steel – renamed USS Inc – operating as a USX subsidiary. In 2001 USX’s steel and steel-related businesses were spun-off into a freestanding publicly traded company, and assumed its current name.
US Steel is today among the largest steel companies in the world, with extensive operations across the US, as well as in Europe. The Company is ranked 244th on the Fortune 500 list. The Company continues to trade shares on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation of $2.82 billion.
Benefits at United States Steel
Business model of United States Steel
Customer Segments
US Steel serves a range of customers across its three operating segments. The Company’s segments principally serve large enterprises in the industrial sector, as follows:
- Flat-Rolled Products, which serves North American customers in the service centre, conversion, transportation (including automotive), construction, container, and appliance and electrical markets;
- US Steel Europe, which primarily serves customers in the European construction, service centre, conversion, container, transportation (including automotive), appliance and electrical, and oil, gas and petrochemical markets; and
- Tubular Products, which primarily serves customers in the oil, gas and petrochemical markets.
US Steel’s largest market is North America, principally serving customers in the US, as well as in Canada. The Company also serves customers across Europe through its European arm.
Value Propositions
US Steel provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company established as one of the largest and most well regarded steel companies in the world, with a track record for providing reliable and efficient products and services;
- Its technical expertise and experience, with the Company employing specialists technical staff across its operating segments, including on-site and in its offices, as well as an experienced executive team;
- Its extensive infrastructure and operations, with the Company engaged its extensive operations across the US, including various production and distribution facilities, as well as having operations in Europe;
- Its research-backed approach, with the Company operating its own in-house research organisation which support the development and operation of the Company’s processes and projects;
- Its technology and equipment, with the Company utilising state-of-the-art technology and equipment across its operations.
Channels
US Steel operates a website at www.ussteel.com, through which it provides information on its various projects, products, and services. The Company, however, does not operate an online sales channel or customer portal. US Steel makes sales through its direct sales force, which is organised by segment and geographic region and operates out of the Company’s network of offices across the US and Canada, as well as in Europe.
US Steel’s products are manufactured through a network of production and processing facilities that it owns and operates itself, which has annual raw steel production capability of 22.0 million net tons – 17.0 million tons in the US and 5.0 million tons in Europe – as well as flat-rolled finishing operations. US Steel also operates its own distribution and logistics infrastructure. It also utilises the services of various third-party agents and distributors.
Customer Relationships
Despite its online presence, US Steel does not offer services or products to its customers on a self-service basis. The Company makes its sales through its direct sales teams, which consults closely with customers in order to fully ascertain the individual requirements of each client. The Company typically agrees fixed-price multi-year sales contracts with its customers, with a view to establishing longstanding recurring business.
US Steel has dedicated account management teams that work closely with its customers on an ongoing basis, providing technical support and sales assistance when necessary. The Company also provides more general support services, with customers able to contact the Company’s personnel over the phone or via email.
US Steel also offers its customers a range of information resources through its website, including press release, news articles, and reports. The Company also operates social media accounts – including with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn – through which it is able to interact directly with customers.
Key Activities
US Steel is an integrated steel producer engaged in the production of flat-rolled and tubular steel products. While the majority of the Company’s production operations are in North America, the Company also has operations in Europe.
US Steel’s operations are organised into three business segments: Flat-Rolled Products, which comprises the Company’s operation of integrated steel plants across the US – specifically those involved in the production of slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets and tin mill products – as well as all of the Company’s US-based iron ore and coke production facilities; US Steel Europe, which comprises the operations of subsidiary company US Steel Kosice, the Company’s integrated steel plant and coke production unit in Slovakia; and Tubular Products, which comprises the operation of the Company’s tubular production facilities, primarily in the United States.
Key Partners
US Steel collaborates with a range of companies across its three operating segments. These partners include:
- Supplier Partners, comprising suppliers of resources and tools, notably suppliers of iron ore and coke, the principal raw materials in steel production;
- Service and Vendor Partners, comprising various service providers and vendors that support and facilitate the Company’s production and distribution operations, including companies to which certain non-technical functions can be outsourced;
- Joint Venture Partners, comprising various companies, principally other steel businesses, with which the Company collaborates on joint projects through mutually-owned entities;
- Channel and Distribution Partners, comprising a range of sales agents and third-party distribution companies that assist in the sale and distribution of US Steel products; and
- Community and Environmental Partners, comprising various companies and organisations with which the Company collaborates on joint projects, particularly projects that seek to protect and preserve natural resources.
US Steel operates a number of joint ventures, including a production facility operated in partnership with Kobe Steel. The Company is also a partner of coke company SunCoke.
Key Resources
US Steel’s key resources are its supply chain and raw materials – notably its supply of coke and iron ore, its network of production and processing facilities and its equipment, its logistics and distribution infrastructure, its sales channels, its partnerships, and its personnel.
US Steel owns and leases a portfolio of properties across the US, Canada, Slovakia, and Brazil. This includes various corporate and sales offices, production and processing facilities, distribution centres, and warehouses.
Cost Structure
US Steel incurs costs in relation to the procurement of raw materials and the management of its supply chain, the operation of its production and processing facilities, the operation and maintenance of its logistics and distribution infrastructure, the management of its partnership, and the retention of its personnel.
In 2015 US Steel recorded cost of sales in the amount of $11.14 billion, including expenses related to the acquisition of raw materials. The Company’s selling, general and administrative expenses – including the payment of salaries and benefits to its workforce of 21,000 employees worldwide – amounted to $415 million for the year.
Revenue Streams
US Steel generates revenue through the sale of various steel products to industrial and commercial customers across North America and Europe. This includes sales contracts for the distribution of slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, tin mill products tubing, and mechanical tubing.
In 2015 US Steel generated annual sales of $11.57 billion, down considerably on the $17.51 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The Company attributed this decrease in sales to decreased shipment volumes and lower average realised prices as a result of challenging market conditions.
The majority of US Steel’s 2015 revenue was generated by the Company’s Flat-Rolled Products segment, which accounted for 8.29 billion in net sales. The bulk of the remaining sales were generated by the US Steel Europe segment, which recorded sales for the year of $2.32 billion.
Our team
info: Mario (“Longhi”) has served as President and Chief Executive Officer at US Steel since 2013, and serves on the Company’s Board of Directors. Longhi first joined the Company in 2012 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Longhi began his career in the metals industry in 1978 as an engineer at Cobrasma. In 1982 he joined Alcoa, where he worked for more than 23 years in various roles, initially as a construction superintendent for the company’s Alumar Refinery in Brazil. He went on to serve in positions in the US, Brazil, and Switzerland, including tenures as President of Alcoa Wheels International, President of Alcoa Forgings Division, President and Chief Executive Officer of Howmet Castings, and Alcoa Vice President and Group President of Global Extrusions. Prior to joining US Steel, Longhi served for six years at Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation, serving first as President and subsequently as Chief Executive Officer.
info: David (“Burritt”) has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since joining the Company in 2013. He has also served as a member of the executive leadership team at US Steel’s North American Flat-Rolled commercial entities and corporate support services. Prior to joining US Steel, Burritt worked at Caterpillar Inc for more than 32 years. He held numerous roles at the company holding a range of responsibilities, and helped lead several transformations and employee development initiatives, including his role as business measurements manager to support Caterpillar’s reorganisation into accountable business units. Burritt served as Chief Financial Officer at Caterpillar Inc for a number of years before retiring from position in 2010.
info: Christine (“Breves”) has served as Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer since 2015. She first joined the Company in 2013 to serve as Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. She went on to assume responsibility for the Company’s logistics services organisation and Transtar, US Steel’s short-line railroad subsidiary, in 2014. Breves worked at Alumax or a number of years, where she served in several roles, including a spell as Director of Purchasing. She went on to join Alcoa in 1998, where she worked for 17 years, holding a number of senior leadership roles such as Head of Global Procurement and Chief Procurement Officer.