Producer
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
Cleveland, Ohio-based integrated steel producer (NYSE: CLF); formed through acquisitions of AK Steel (2020) and ArcelorMittal USA (2020) — now the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. Key plate facilities: Burns Harbor, Indiana (carbon/HSLA plate + heat treating); Gary, Indiana (same grade mix); Coatesville, Pennsylvania (EAF-based, 800,000 tons/year, 450+ steel chemistries including military alloy, quench-and-temper capability). Also serves automotive as AK Steel legacy. The Coatesville PA facility is one of the most technically capable US plate mills — produces complex alloys including military armor plate. Iron ore mining operations in Minnesota/Michigan (Minorca Mine, Tilden Mine, Empire Mine) provide integrated raw material supply from Great Lakes region.
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Inputs supplied
6
Goods downstream
7
Facilities
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Stories
What they make
5 inputs Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
manufactured
Sole supplierGrain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES / CRGO) →
manufactured
Advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and ultra-HSS sheets →
manufactured
High-Strength Steel Plate (Apparatus Grade) →
manufactured
Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES / CRGO) →
manufactured
Electrolytic Tinplate (ETP) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
7 facilities
Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor Integrated Steel Mill →
USBurns Harbor, Indiana · manufacturing_plant
Formerly ArcelorMittal USA's largest plant; acquired by Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020; produces AHSS grades for automotive body-in-white; adjacent to Lake Michigan for ore/coal delivery; sole US domestic producer of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) used in EV motors and transformers — acquired with the AM USA purchase
Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works (AK Steel GOES) →
USPennsylvania · manufacturing
The primary US grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) production facility; part of Cleveland-Cliffs' AK Steel acquisition; sole US domestic GOES producer; supplies transformer cores for US grid equipment
Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works, Butler PA →
USmanufacturing
Only US domestic grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) production facility. Produces Hi-B and conventional grades. If Butler Works shuts down, the US has zero domestic GOES supply — all transformer cores would require imports from Japan, South Korea, Germany, or China.
Cleveland-Cliffs Weirton Tinplate Mill (IDLED April 2024) →
USWeirton, West Virginia · rolling_mill
Last major US integrated tinplate mill; ~300,000 net tons/year capacity; ~900 employees affected. Idled February–April 2024 after USITC February 6 2024 rejected antidumping duties despite Commerce finding dumping by Canada, China, Germany, South Korea. Site announced July 2024 for redevelopment as distribution transformer manufacturing plant. The direct trigger of permanent US food can import dependency.
Cleveland-Cliffs Zanesville Works, Zanesville OH →
USmanufacturing
Secondary GOES production facility. Together with Butler PA, constitutes 100% of US domestic GOES capacity (~5% of global supply). Both facilities together cannot meet peak US transformer demand — imports fill the gap.
Cleveland-Cliffs – Burns Harbor, Indiana (Plate + Finishing) →
USIndiana
Burns Harbor, Porter County, Indiana. Produces carbon steel plate, HSLA plate, multiple ASTM grades. Plate + heat treating/finishing operations. Part of former ArcelorMittal USA (acquired 2020). Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan in the Indiana steel corridor — historically one of the most important plate-producing facilities in the US.
Cleveland-Cliffs – Coatesville, Pennsylvania (Specialty Plate) →
USPennsylvania
Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania — EAF-based plate mill; 800,000 tons/year raw steel capacity; produces 450+ steel chemistries including carbon, HSLA, commercial alloy, and military alloy plate. Has quench-and-temper capability for specialty high-strength grades (ASTM A514, A517 — these are the T1 and Q&T grades used in heavy-duty structural applications including fire apparatus aerials). Coatesville has produced specialty plate for over 100 years; one of the most technically capable US plate mills. Also makes armor plate for US military programs.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) — Sole US Producer
12%Flat-Rolled Steel (Automotive, Appliance, General)
55%Specialty Plate (Military Armor + Structural)
12%Iron Ore & Pellet Production (Minnesota/Michigan)
21%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2023
Cleveland-Cliffs is the only domestic US producer of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) — the specialized steel used in every large power transformer, generator, and high-efficiency motor. GOES has magnetically aligned grain structure that minimizes energy loss (hysteresis) when AC current changes direction 60 times per second in power grid equipment. Without GOES, transformers are 5-20× less efficient. The US electric grid runs on transformers containing GOES; US electrification programs (EV charging, heat pumps, renewable grid integration) require massive transformer deployment — all of which requires GOES. Cliffs' Zanesville, Ohio facility is the single US source. If it is disrupted (strike, flood, equipment failure), transformer manufacturers must source from Japan (Nippon Steel, JFE) or Germany (ThyssenKrupp) — 12-24 week lead times across Pacific or Atlantic shipping. The US transition to a clean energy grid depends on a single Ohio steel mill.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. ↗Chokepoint2023
Cleveland-Cliffs is the only US company that makes grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) — the material required for EV motors and power transformers. If it closes its one GOES line, US EV manufacturing loses its domestic steel option. Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) is a highly specialized flat-rolled steel with specific magnetic properties achieved through precise silicon content (3%), hot-rolling, cold-rolling, annealing, and surface coating. It is used in EV motor cores, power transformer cores, and generator laminations. Cleveland-Cliffs's Zanesville, Ohio facility (acquired with the ArcelorMittal USA deal) is the sole US domestic producer of GOES. The US consumes ~300,000 t/yr of GOES; imports (primarily from Japan's Nippon Steel, Germany's ThyssenKrupp, and South Korea's POSCO) fill most demand. As US EV production and grid infrastructure investment accelerate, GOES supply has become a strategic concern — with Nippon Steel's proposed 2023 acquisition of US Steel adding another dimension to foreign control of US electrical steel supply.
Cleveland-Cliffs ↗Capacity2023
Cleveland-Cliffs' Coatesville, Pennsylvania facility — the oldest continuously operating US steel mill (founded 1810, surviving the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and every recession since) — produces steel for applications so diverse that the same furnace may produce military armor plate one day and nuclear reactor vessel steel the next. Coatesville has the 450+ steel chemistry capability to meet MIL-SPEC, ASME Section III (nuclear), and API standards in the same electric arc furnace facility. During periods of Russian steel import bans (post-Ukraine), SSAB Armox and European armor plate alternatives face US import restrictions — making Coatesville critical for US domestic military vehicle armor supply. A single Pennsylvania steel mill that has been operating continuously for 215 years is the domestic supply anchor for US nuclear vessel steel and military armor plate.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. ↗Origin2023
Cleveland-Cliffs was originally founded in 1847 as a Great Lakes iron ore mining company (the 'Cliffs' referred to the iron ore-bearing cliffs of Lake Superior). For 170 years it was primarily an iron ore company. The transformation to integrated steel producer came in 2020 with the consecutive acquisitions of AK Steel (for $1.1B, including its Zanesville Ohio GOES facility and Middletown Ohio integrated mill) and ArcelorMittal USA (for $1.4B, including Burns Harbor and Indiana Harbor steel mills). These two deals made Cliffs the largest US flat-rolled steel producer within a single year. The AK Steel acquisition was particularly consequential: AK Steel was the last remaining US producer of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) — making Cliffs the only US domestic GOES supplier, critical for transformer manufacturing.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. ↗