United States Steel Corporation

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Statistics adequate to measure accurately the physical growth in this productive and useful wealth do not exist; and this renders all controversies over percentage rates of economic growth, whether at home or abroad, quite academic. Only fragmentary information is available. The American Iron and Steel Institute has, for example, estimated that the accumulated total of steel products installed and daily serving the nation is over 1 Yz billion tons - more than 8 tons per person. There is also, among the more accurate data, the long record of this country's annual steel production out of which additions to accumulated wealth are fashioned. During this century, as may be noted in the chart on page 25, there has been a majestic upward sweep in steel production. In recent years production has been nine or ten times what it was at the turn of the century - an average increase of 3 Yz to 4 per cent per annum compounded. The comparable population growth rate was about 1 Yz per cent. As a measure of the increasing economic usage of steel, production figures are significantly deficient in one respect. With the passage of the years, and as a result of intensive research, steel has changed and become better. In numerous instances a ton of steel today can and does serve purposes that formerly required more than a ton - in some instances nearly two tons. New steels can and do, moreover, serve useful new purposes that neither steel nor other materials formerly could practically serve. Steel's contribution to economic growth has increased more rapidly than registered by the tonnage data. Because steel quality improvements have not been adequately quantified it interestingly follows that steel price increases have not been adequately qualified. A part of additional price is assignable to additional quality. Because of this nation's great wealth in the form of installed steel products, it can on occasion refrain without great hardship from adding thereto. In wartime, for example, industrial capacity is diverted to armament production and the existing peacetime durable goods are made to last a little longer. There are other occasions. For example, in the 1930's per capita steel production averaged only three-fourths as much as it averaged in the "new era" 1920's. In the 1950's when economic growth reflected the world-wide "catch-up" demand caused by the war, per capita steel production averaged more than double that of the prewar 1930's. The fact that the "catch-up" demand may now have been satisfied renders considerations of economic growth of particular interest to steel producers at this time. ECONOMIC GROWTH Although economic growth is so important to a steel producer, mere growth in terms of just producing an ever bigger pile of goods is unacceptable as an overriding American objective. It leaves out too many other popularly cherished notions. If, for example, the maximum possible production were all that was desired there would be no restrictions on the weekly hours of labor; there would be fewer or no restrictions on the labor of youth; costly and timeconsuming "higher" education would be restricted to those of demonstrated talent the more quickly to add the less talented to manual labor forces; unem- 24
Million Persons 300 200 100 o 1900 Growth In Steel 1910 1920 Steel Ingot Production U.S.A. 1930 1940 1950 1960 M illion Tons ployment and pension payments, if sanctioned at all, would be contingent on need; no minimum wage would preclude those not worth it from working at lesser rates to contribute their bit to the pile of products; strikes and lockouts would be prohibited by law. This nation could easily - but would not - choose to win a production race at such price. Mere physical growth is an inadequate measure of mounting satisfaction that an economy provides to those living under it - especially if such growth is dictated rather than voluntarily achieved. International comparisons that are based on such measurements are thus incomplete or even misleading. Some of the values that are surely sought and prized in the American scale of Jiving, but not measurable by production statistics, can be illustrated in the long records of U. S. Steel. Thus, fifty years ago the weekly hours of labor in U. S. Steel were nearly 70. Over the years the average hours actually worked decreased about 50 per cent. In the same period average weekly employment costs per employe, which include payments to and for the employe, increased 25 120 100 80 60 40 20 o
Page 1: Annual Report 1960 @ United States
Page 4 and 5: Molten steel being poured from an e
Page 6: confidence that the productive capa
Page 9 and 10: With this modeI'll electron microsc
Page 11 and 12: Below, fall scene in Wyoming's rugg
Page 13 and 14: Analog computor, right, in new Elec
Page 16 and 17: 3 2 Lost-T ime Accidents Steel Prod
Page 18 and 19: projected insurance costs in excess
Page 20 and 21: for the 1957 Year Class, under prov
Page 22 and 23: no one of them holds of record as m
Page 24 and 25: This modern continuous quenching an
Page 31 and 32: Plant & Equipment Expenditures VS.
Page 33 and 34: Consolidated Statement of Income 19
Page 35 and 36: Common stock Under the Stock Option
Page 37 and 38: Plant and equipment (at cost) Detai
Page 40 and 41: United States Steel and Carnegie Pe
Page 42 and 43: American Bridge Division, 525 Willi

United States Steel Corporation

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