Competition

Competition includes all the actual and potential rival offerings and substitutes a buyer might consider. An automobile manufacturer can buy steel from U.S. Steel in the United States, from a foreign firm in Japan or Korea, or from a minimill such as Nucor at a cost savings, or it can buy aluminum for certain parts from Alcoa to reduce the car’s weight, or engineered plastics from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) instead of steel. Clearly, U.S. Steel would be thinking too narrowly about its competition if it thought only of other integrated steel companies. In the long run, U.S. Steel is more likely to be hurt by substitute products than by other steel companies.

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