Ford's focus on aluminium body vehicles spurs competition among steelmakers

A joint venture steel plant AM/NS Calvert, in Alabama is preparing to produce the latest generation of ultra high-strength steel for the North American auto industry.

Ford's decision to make the body of one of its best sellers F-150 pickup out of aluminum is pressing the steel industry to respond to the escalating struggle to cut vehicle weight.

The Calvert partners, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., are investing $80 million to improve the Calvert plant. ThyssenKrupp sold the plant to the two partners in February 2014.

Shipments of ultra high-strength steel from Calvert to carmakers are expected to begin in early 2017.

Despite all the efforts from steel industry players to position steel ahead of aluminium for automotive body making, the white metal still scores high among auto makers as the metal of choice for lightweighting. In future, more and more carmakers are expected to join the aluminium bandwagon in order to make their cars more value-added as well as cost-effective.

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