Manufacturing: Does the UK Steel Industry Have a Future?

The FT produce some superb videos that are ideal for use in the Business & Economics classroom - and this one on the UK steel industry is another excellent teaching resource - particularly for students researching UK manufacturing.

While global steel output has accelerated over the past four decades, the UK steel industry has very much been left behind. In the video Tanya Powley (the FT's manufacturing correspondent) visits Celsa's plant in Cardiff to find out if UK steelmakers still have a future.

There is so much in the four minutes of the video. A good idea is to ask students to consider, as they watch, what is the most significant point made about the UK steel industry.

They might mention:

• The substantial reduction in scale of the steel industry over recent decades (from 200K workers to around 20k)
• The significant overcapacity in the global steel industry (what does this mean for the way that steel producers set their prices?)
• The lack of competitiveness of UK steel plants despite heavy investment (capital intensive!)
• The changing relationship between employers and employees (the steel industry at its height had a pretty awful record of industrial relations)