U.S. Steel

The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company owned by a Japanese company and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has factories in many places in the U.S. and Central Europe. U.S. Steel makes and sells different kinds of steel, such as flat-rolled and tubular products. People and companies in many industries, like cars, buildings, and energy, buy these steel products.

In 2025, U.S. Steel was bought by Nippon Steel. This deal was arranged with help from the United States government. Even though some people and groups, like the United Steelworkers and leaders from past and present U.S. governments, did not like the deal, it was finished in June 2025. Now, U.S. Steel is part of Nippon Steel North America, and the U.S. government still has some control over it.

U.S. Steel used to be called USX Corporation, but it changed its name back to U.S. Steel in 2001. It is one of the biggest steel companies in the United States, even though it moved down in rank among the world's steel makers over the years. It also used to have energy businesses, but sold them off many years ago.

History

20th century

In 1901, J. P. Morgan created U.S. Steel by merging Carnegie Steel, Federal Steel, and National Steel for $492 million, roughly equivalent to $18 billion today.

During its peak years, U.S. Steel, then known on Wall Street as "The Corporation," was known more for its size than its efficiency or innovation. In 1901, the company was far and away the largest steel manufacturer, producing roughly two-thirds of the nation's steel. The company also operated the largest commercial fleet on the Great Lakes through its Pittsburgh Steamship Company. Due to large debts from its founding, since Andrew Carnegie demanded gold bonds for his share, and concerns about antitrust lawsuits, U.S. Steel operated cautiously.

In 1902, its first full year of operations, U.S. Steel made 67 percent of all the steel produced in the United States. Roughly a century later, however, in 2001, that production fell to only eight percent.

For much of the 20th century, U.S. Steel was both the world's largest steel producer and its largest corporation. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion ($54.2 billion today), making it the world's first billion-dollar corporation, although the U.S. Bureau of Corporations would later value it at around $700 million.

The company's headquarters was located in the Empire Building in New York City; where it remained one of the building's largest tenants for 75 years. Charles M. Schwab, the Carnegie Steel executive who originally suggested the merger to Morgan, ultimately emerged as the new corporation's first President.

In 1907, U.S. Steel acquired its largest competitor, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and Tennessee Coal was replaced on the Dow Jones Industrial Average by General Electric. The following year, in March 1908, the company formed the Committee on Safety of United States Steel following chairman Elbert H. Gary's meetings with safety managers of the operating companies, leading to the introduction of the modern "Safety First" movement. The committee's formation was intended to enhance workplace safety, reduce worker accidents, and safeguard the company against criticisms and legal liability.

U.S. Steel's primary competitor, Bethlehem Steel, led by former U.S. Steel president Charles M. Schwab, was quicker to innovate. By 1911, U.S. Steel's market share had dropped to 50 percent. That same year, James A. Farrell became president and held the position until 1932.

Also in 1911, Standard Oil was broken up by the federal government, and the U.S. government attempted to use federal antitrust laws to break up U.S. Steel, but proved unsuccessful in doing so.

In 2008, author Douglas Blackmon wrote that U.S. Steel’s growth in the South was partly due to using workers who were treated unfairly. The company made deals with over 20 Alabama counties to use workers in difficult conditions.

U.S. Steel ranked 16th among United States corporations in the value of its World War II production contracts. Production peaked at more than 35 million tons in 1953. Its employment was greatest in 1943, when it had more than 340,000 employees.

The federal government intervened to try to control U.S. Steel. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman attempted to take over the company's steel mills to resolve a crisis with its union, the United Steelworkers of America. The Supreme Court blocked the takeover by ruling that the president did not have the Constitutional authority to seize the mills. President John F. Kennedy was more successful in 1962 when he pressured the steel industry into reversing price increases that Kennedy considered dangerously inflationary.

U.S. Steel did not support efforts to involve Alabama businesses in changing rules at the University of Alabama.

In 1963, although the firm employed more than 30,000 workers in Birmingham, Alabama, company president Roger M. Blough said that using his company position to pressure local leaders was wrong.

In the years following World War II, the steel industry and heavy manufacturing went through a restructuring, leading to a decline in U.S. Steel's need for labor, production, and portfolio. Many jobs moved offshore. By 2000, the company employed 52,500 people.

In the early days of the Reagan administration, steel firms won tax help to compete with imported goods. But instead of updating their mills, steel companies used the money for other business areas. In March 1982, U.S. Steel spent money to buy Marathon Oil. In 1984, the federal government stopped U.S. Steel from buying National Steel, and political pressure forced the company to stop plans to bring in steel from Britain. U.S. Steel finally bought National Steel's assets in 2003, after National Steel went bankrupt. U.S. Steel bought Marathon Oil in 1982, and later bought Texas Oil and Gas. In 1986, it reorganized as USX Corporation with U.S. Steel renamed USS, Inc. as a major subsidiary.

About 22,000 USX employees stopped work on August 1, 1986, after the United Steelworkers of America and the company could not agree on new employee contract terms. This was characterized by the company as a strike and by the union as a lockout. This resulted in most USX facilities becoming idle until February 1, 1987. A compromise was accepted by the union membership on January 31, 1987. On February 4, 1987, USX announced that four USX plants would remain closed permanently, eliminating about 3,500 union jobs.

In late 1986, a business person tried to take control of the company but stopped trying a few weeks before workers returned.

By the late 20th century, U.S. Steel earned most of its money from energy operations.

21st century

In 2001, it spun off Marathon and other non-steel assets, except Transtar, and expanded internationally by acquiring plants in Slovakia and Serbia.

During the early 2010s, U.S. Steel updated its software systems. Facing money challenges, the company sold its Serbian mills near Belgrade to the Serbian government in January 2012. In 2014, U.S. Steel’s falling value caused its removal from the S&P 500 and its transfer to the S&P MidCap 400.

However, in October 2019, U.S. Steel invested $700 million in Big River Steel. In December 2020, U.S. Steel bought the rest of Big River Steel for $774 million, finishing the purchase in January 2021.

In February 2022, U.S. Steel began construction on a new mill in Osceola, Arkansas which will be operational by 2024. In April 2022, the electric arc furnace flat-rolled Big River Steel mill in Osceola became the first ResponsibleSteel site certified in North America.

Acquisition by Nippon Steel

Main article: Acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel

In July 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for US$7.3 billion. Later, on December 18, 2023, Nippon Steel offered to buy U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion. The Nippon offer was approved by U.S. Steel shareholders in April 2024. Nippon said it would keep U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh headquarters and honor union contracts.

The deal had different reactions. On March 14, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden said that U.S. Steel must stay American-owned, saying the Nippon Steel deal could be risky. After this, it was noted the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) could block the deal based on safety matters.

In July 2024, Nippon Steel hired a person to support its acquisition of U.S. Steel. By September, the Biden Administration said it planned to block the deal, citing safety concerns. On December 10, 2024, it was reported that President Joe Biden planned to block the Nippon deal. On December 23, 2024 the CFIUS finished its review without agreeing on safety risks. The Nippon buyout would then be blocked by President Biden on January 3, 2025. On January 6, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued the Biden administration.

The companies also complained about Cleveland-Cliffs. U.S. Steel said it still wanted to complete the deal with Nippon Steel.

On January 27, 2025, an investor released a plan to replace the CEO and end the lawsuit about the Nippon Steel purchase. The investor chose a new CEO and met with leaders to get support. Some union members said this new leader might be better.

Union members have expressed frustration with the process involving Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion bid. Although U.S. Steel publicly supported the merger, labor groups remain concerned about the potential consequences for jobs, operations, and the company’s future under foreign ownership.

The investor proposed selling the company’s Big River Steel operations in Arkansas. The plan would use the money to update older steel plants in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois. The investor said this would support union jobs and help traditional steelmaking.

Finalized deal, golden share

On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a new "planned partnership" between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel. Under the new terms, U.S. Steel would keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh, and the company would be led by an American CEO with a board mostly of U.S. citizens. Additionally, the U.S. government would receive a golden share allowing the U.S. president to appoint one of three board members and providing veto authority over corporate decisions. Trump said that Nippon Steel would invest $14 billion into U.S. operations, including $2.4 billion for facilities in the Mon Valley region of Pennsylvania. The acquisition closed on June 18, 2025. U.S. Steel was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on the same day.

According to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick the acquisition requires the president's approval for U.S. Steel to:

• Relocate U.S. Steel’s headquarters from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Redomicile outside the United States
• Change the name of the company from U.S. Steel
• Reduce, waive, or delay the $14 billion of near-term investments into U.S. Steel
• Transfer production or jobs outside the United States
• Close or idle plants before certain timeframes other than normal course temporary idling for safety, upgrades, etc.
• Other protections regarding employee salaries, anti-dumping pricing, raw materials and sourcing outside the U.S., acquisitions, and more.

Later disclosures showed that, after Trump leaves office, these powers are to transfer to the Treasury and Commerce departments.

Stocks and dividends

U.S. Steel is a former Dow Jones Industrial Average component, listed from April 1, 1901, to May 3, 1991. It was removed under its USX Corporation name with Navistar International and Primerica. An original member of the S&P 500 since 1957, U.S. Steel was removed from that index on July 2, 2014, due to declining market capitalization.

The Board of Directors considers the declaration of dividends four times each year, with checks for dividends declared on common stock mailed for receipt on March, June, September, and December. In 2008, the dividend was $0.30 per share, the highest in company history By April 27, 2009, however, it was reduced to $0.05 per share. In February 2020, the dividend was reduced to $0.01 per share but was then later increased back to $0.05 per share in November 2021.

Legal issues

Labor

U.S. Steel kept the same worker rules that Andrew Carnegie used. Carnegie thought that paying good wages and having good workers meant saving money. The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers union at the Homestead, Pennsylvania plant lost its power after a big fight in 1892. U.S. Steel also won another fight in 1901, the year it started. The company built the city of Gary, Indiana, in 1906, which later became home to the biggest steel mill in the Northern Hemisphere. During World War I, U.S. Steel had to let some unions work because of pressure from the government, but it went back to its old ways after the war ended and won another fight in 1919.

Public pressure made the company change from 12-hour workdays to the usual eight-hour days. In the 1920s, U.S. Steel used its own groups to represent workers instead of real unions. This changed in 1937 when the company agreed to work with the United Steelworkers of America union. This happened during the Great Depression when a new leader tried to make things better.

U.S. Steel sometimes worked closely with police to watch labor activities, especially in the 1930s and 1940s. The Steelworkers union had many long fights with U.S. Steel over pay and benefits, but not about being recognized as a union. In 1974, they tried an agreement to avoid fights, but it didn’t stop the steel industry from struggling. In 1984, the agreement ended, and in 1986, workers stopped working after a disagreement about their contract. In December 2022, a new four-year agreement was made, giving workers raises and bonuses.

Environmental record

In 1948, bad air from U.S. Steel’s factories in Donora, Pennsylvania, caused many health problems for people there. Today, a museum in Donora tells this story and how it helped create better air quality rules.

U.S. Steel has been ranked among the top companies that create air pollution in the United States. In 2008, it released over one million kg of harmful chemicals. The company has faced lawsuits for polluting water and creating toxic waste. For example, in 1993, it had to clean up a polluted site in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, and in 2005, it paid to clean up polluted water in Ohio. The company’s factory in Gary, Indiana, has also been charged with polluting Lake Michigan.

U.S. Steel aims to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050 and has set goals to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Legacy

U.S. Steel Tower

The U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is named after the company. Since 1970, it has been the company's main office. It is the tallest building in downtown Pittsburgh and was built using special steel from the company. Another building in New York City, called One Liberty Plaza, was also built by the company in 1973.

Steelmark logo

The Steelmark logo shows how important steel is in everyday life. It was used in many ads and on many steel products. In the 1960s, the logo began to represent the whole steel industry. By the 1970s, the logo's colors stood for the materials used to make steel: yellow for coal, orange for ore, and blue for steel scrap. Later, it was used to show the importance of recycling steel.

The Pittsburgh Steelers football team used ideas from the Steelmark logo for their own logo. In the 1950s, they added numbers to their helmets, but later changed to using the Steelmark design.

U.S. Steel also built the Unisphere in New York for the 1964 World's Fair. It is the largest globe ever made.

Chicago Picasso sculpture

U.S. Steel made the Chicago Picasso sculpture in Gary, Indiana, before moving it to Chicago. The company also gave steel to build St. Michael's Catholic Church in Chicago because many people who went there worked at their factories.

United States Steel Hour television program and Walt Disney World involvement

U.S. Steel paid for The United States Steel Hour TV show from 1945 to 1963. The company also helped build two resorts at Walt Disney World in 1971 to show off its steel building products.

Real estate development

U.S. Steel built homes and condos in Florida during the 1970s, including places near Daytona Beach, Florida and St. Petersburg, Florida.

Facilities

U.S. Steel has many places where it makes and sells steel products in the United States and other countries.

In the United States, important places include Clairton Coke Works, Edgar Thomson Works, and Irvin Plant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Gary Works in Gary, Indiana, is the largest steel mill in North America. U.S. Steel also has facilities in Dearborn, Michigan; East Chicago, Indiana; Portage, Indiana; Ecorse, Michigan; Granite City, Illinois; Fairfield, Alabama; and Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.

U.S. Steel also has mining operations in Minnesota and pipe mills in several states. Internationally, it has facilities in Slovakia and previously operated in Serbia. The company also owns railroads and ships to help move materials.

Railroad ownership

U.S. Steel once owned small railroads to help move materials. These included lines in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Minnesota. The company also had a fleet of ships to move materials on the Great Lakes. These railroads and ships are now owned by other companies.

Corporate social responsibility

In January 2025, U.S. Steel received the Equality 100 Award from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This happened because the company earned a perfect score on an important test for fairness and equality for the fifth year in a row.

Corporate affairs

U.S. Steel shows changes in its business each year. The company has many important leaders who help guide its work.

U.S. Steel has many shareholders, with big companies like BlackRock and The Vanguard Group owning parts of it. Over the years, many leaders have served as presidents and chairmen of the board, helping to manage the company.