Technological stagnation coupled with the rise of Japan and the four tigers, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong.
Fairly close. The steel companies priced themselves out of the market for failing to upgrade their technology while maintaining overpriced labor on the books. When you combine that with the naturally cheaper price to build large steel-demanding items like ships, cars, trains, etc overseas, the steel producers had to keep inflated prices just to make ends meet. One of the biggest saviors of the steel industry outside of commercial building construction has been the Navy, supplying the steel industry with constant business as the Navy undergoes 15 years of ship modernization/replacement.
