Analysis
October 13, 2023
SMU Explains: A Brief History of the US Pig Iron Market
Written by Stephen Miller
The pig iron trade is an important element to the US steel and foundry industry. The electric-arc furnace (EAF) thin-slab casting steelmakers need pig iron to make drawing quality steels for several consumers they are trying to serve.
The ferrous scrap available to them contains higher levels of copper, aluminum, and other elements. These have to be neutralized by adding virgin iron units, namely basic pig iron and/or direct-reduced iron (DRI)/hot-briquetted iron (HBI). The iron foundry industry relies on pig iron to make their various grades of iron castings. These foundries supply parts and products to virtually every sector of the US economy.
