SIC 1011 Iron Ores

Encyclopedia of American Industries | 2005 | Copyright

SIC 1011
IRON ORES

This classification covers establishments primarily engaged in mining, beneficiating, or otherwise preparing iron ores and manganiferous ores valued chiefly for their iron content. This industry includes production of sinter and other agglomerates except those associated with blast furnace operations. Blast furnaces primarily engaged in producing pig iron from iron ore are classified in SIC 3312: Steel Works, Blast Furnaces (Including Coke Ovens), and Rolling Mills.

NAICS Code(s)

212210 (Iron Ore Mining)

Industry Snapshot

Virtually all of the iron ore mined in the world is used in steel making. In the United States, the largest producers are concentrated in a few states that account for the country's national output of usable iron ore. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, mines in Minnesota, Michigan, and three other states shipped about $1.21 billion worth of usable iron ore in 2001, down from the $1.56 billion shipped in 2000.

The U.S. iron ore industry is dependent on the domestic steel industry, most notably the large integrated steelworks along the Great Lakes. These integrated manufacturers use blast furnaces to turn iron ore, coke, and limestone into pig iron and then into steel.

High labor and fuel costs, declining ore grades, and the inland location of the country's mines make it difficult for the United States to compete in the world iron ore market. U.S. iron ore producers are meeting these demands by making higher-quality fluxed iron ore pellets that can meet the tight chemical and physical specifications that are needed to make higher quality steels.

U.S. iron ore production decreased in the late 1990s in response to the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997, when Thailand devalued its currency and set off a chain reaction of devaluations in the region. Foreign producers, unable to find buyers for their steel products in their depressed regions, supplied low-cost exports to the United States, thereby decreasing the need for domestic iron ore. The situation did not improve during the first years of the 2000s. U.S. mine production of iron ore dropped 26.8 percent to 46.2 million metric tons in 2001, down from 63.1 million metric tons in 2000.

Organization and Structure

The United States maintained a close relationship with Canada in regard to iron ore trade. Over the course of the 1990s, the United States was a net importer to meet demands for iron ore. Since 1990 about 54 percent of U.S. imports have come from Canada, while 99 percent of U.S. exports went there. The reasons for the tight relationship included ownership and proximity. In 1998 Canadian steel mills owned part of three of the nine iron ore producers that accounted for 99.5 percent of the U.S. ore...

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