“No inventions; no innovations” A History of US Steel
Last week US Steel announced it was being acquired by Japanese steel company Nippon Steel. The milestone gives an opportunity to look back at what once was the largest and most important company in the US (and arguably the world), and how it slowly declined. Prior to the acquisition announcement, US Steel had a market cap of around $8 billion, not even enough to put it in the Fortune 500 (it would come in at around #690, slightly below the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain).1 Over its lifespan, the company slowly but steadily lost market share and importance. When it was formed in 1901, it was by far the largest company in the world, and produced nearly 2/3rds of American steel. Today, it makes just 12% of American steel, around a third of the steel that it made in 1955, and employs around the same number of people as online pet retailer Chewy.
How did a once mighty industrial titan fall so far? Let’s take a look.
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