History of the iron and steel industry in the United States

The technological development of the US iron and steel industry has closely mirrored that of other countries. In the 1800s, the US switched from charcoal to coal in ore smelting, adopted the Bessemer process, and saw the rise of very large integrated steel mills. In the 20th century, the US industry transitioned from the open hearth furnace to the basic oxygen steelmaking process. After peaking in the 1940s and 1950s, the US iron and steel industry shifted toward smaller mini-mills and specialty mills that use iron and steel scrap instead of iron ore.