Cleveland Cliffs

What Cleveland Cliffs does

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF), founded in 1847 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, operating a fully vertically integrated value chain from iron ore mining (Tilden, Northshore, United Taconite, Hibbing Taconite JV in Minnesota and Michigan) through metallurgical coke and coal production, blast furnace and basic oxygen steelmaking, the Toledo Direct Reduction Plant producing Hot-Briquetted Iron (HBI), electric arc furnaces, flat-rolled finishing (hot-rolled, cold-rolled, hot-dip galvanized/galvannealed), and downstream tubular components, tooling, and stamping. The company controls approximately 20 million net tons of steelmaking capacity, holds roughly 30% of the North American flat-rolled market, and supplies approximately 50% of the steel used by domestic automotive manufacturers. Specialty products include TRAN-COR (the only U.S.-made high-permeability electrical steel), Regular Grain-Oriented electrical steel, advanced high-strength steels (NEXMET, ULTRALUME Gen-3), stainless steels, and steel plate for military/infrastructure use.

The business model is enterprise B2B with direct sales to automotive OEMs (GM, Ford, Stellantis), industrial manufacturers, distributors/converters, and other steel producers. Approximately 45% of sales come from long-term fixed-price contracts, customer retention exceeds 95% at the top tier, and pricing is quote-based per net ton (Q1 2026 average net selling price of $1,048 per net ton). FY2025 revenue was $18.6 billion across roughly four end-markets: automotive (~33% of 2025 steel shipments), distributors and converters (31% of Q1 2026 revenue, $1.5B), infrastructure and manufacturing (29%, $1.4B), and steel producers (11%, $552M). Recent additions include the November 2024 acquisition of Stelco Holdings (~$2.5B enterprise value), adding Canadian production at Hamilton and Lake Erie Works, and a strategic MoU with POSCO (September 2025) under which POSCO will invest over $700M for approximately 10% of Cleveland-Cliffs.

The company employs approximately 25,000–30,000 people across the U.S. and Canada and is actively investing in decarbonization: up to $575 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for hydrogen-ready and electrified furnace projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the world's first full-scale hydrogen injection trials at the Indiana Harbor #7 blast furnace, and a UW-Madison research partnership on solid-oxide electrolyzer technology. The April 2026 Palantir AI partnership represents the first major deployment of AI for production planning and predictive analytics across flat-rolled operations. The company is navigating a cyclical downturn — FY2025 GAAP net loss of $1.4 billion, idling of the C6 blast furnace at Cleveland Works, and 3,500 Canadian layoffs — while defending its domestic market position through active advocacy for Section 232 tariffs (raised to 50% in 2025) that reduced finished steel imports by 17% in 2025.

Name

Cleveland Cliffs

Legal name

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Website

https://clevelandcliffs.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1847

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Cleveland-Cliffs is North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer, operating a fully vertically integrated value chain from iron ore mining through HBI production, blast furnace and EAF steelmaking, and downstream stamping and tubular components. It supplies approximately 50% of steel to domestic automotive OEMs and roughly 30% of the North American flat-rolled market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flat-Rolled Steel Manufacturing

NAICS

Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing (331221), Rolling and Drawing of Purchased Steel (33122), Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel (3312), Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing (332322)

SIC

Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling & Finishing Mills (3310), Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling Mills (Coke Ovens) (3312), Metal Mining (1000), Sheet Metal Work (3444)

akta.pro primary industry

Hot Rolling & Primary Mills (Plate, Hot-Rolled Coil/Sheet, Strip) (IMAKABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction & Demolition (C&D) Metal Recycling (Structural Steel, Rebar, Roofing, Wire) (IMAKAMAF)

Keywords

• Flat-rolled steel
• Iron ore pellets
• Hot-briquetted iron
• Carbon steel products
• Steel manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices29 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Flat-Rolled Steel Products: Primary revenue from sale of flat-rolled steel products including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated, plate, stainless and electrical steels. Revenue approximately $18.6 billion in 2025
2. Iron Ore Pellets: Sale of iron ore pellets from mining operations in Minnesota and Michigan. pellets are primary feedstock for blast furnace steelmaking
3. Hot-Briquetted Iron (HBI): Premium metallic product sold to third parties and used internally at blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, and electric arc furnaces
4. Downstream Products: Tubular components, tooling and stamping products for automotive and industrial applications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cleveland-Cliffs is a vertically integrated flat-rolled steel producer that operates across the full value chain from iron ore mining and pellet production through primary steelmaking (blast furnaces, BOFs, EAFs, direct reduction) to finishing operations producing hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated, electrical, stainless and plate steels, plus downstream tubular components and tooling/stamping. The company sells these steel products primarily to automotive OEMs, industrial manufacturers, steel service centers/distributors and other steel producers.

Product overview

Cleveland-Cliffs is a vertically integrated North American flat-rolled steel producer operating from iron ore mining through primary steelmaking to downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubular components. The company operates multiple production facilities across the United States and Canada. Its product portfolio is organized into: upstream metallics (iron ore pellets from Minnesota and Michigan mines, and Hot-Briquetted Iron from the Toledo Direct Reduction Plant); carbon flat-rolled steels (hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and hot-dip galvanized sheet); specialty steels (electrical steels including TRAN-COR and grain-oriented products at Butler Works, stainless steels at Coshocton and Mansfield, and Advanced High-Strength Steels for automotive lightweighting); and downstream products (tubular components, tooling and stamping operations). The company is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America and a leading supplier to the automotive industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TRAN-COR: High-permeability electrical steel made in the United States, used in power transformers.
• ZINCGRIP
• NEXMET
• ULTRALUME
• CARLITE

Products and services

• Hot-Briquetted Iron (HBI) A compact, high-quality, environmentally friendly metallic source produced at the Toledo Direct Reduction Plant, sold to third parties and used internally as premium feedstock for steelmaking in blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, and electric arc furnaces.
• Iron Ore Pellets

Quantifiable outcome

• 27% lower Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity than global average integrated steel mills
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Palantir TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2026Three-year strategic partnership to deploy AI solutions across Cleveland-Cliffs' flat-rolled steel manufacturing operations. AI platform integrated into production planning, order entry, and operational workflows to enable real-time data integration, predictive analytics, and enhanced decision-making.
• Cleveland CavaliersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 March 2022Multi-year marketing partnership with NBA team including jersey patch sponsorship starting 2022-23 season. Cliffs logo appears on player uniforms - only steel company with NBA jersey patch partnership.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (HERD Lab)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership on solid-oxide electrolyzer (SOE) technology to recycle steelmaking flue gas back into carbon monoxide and hydrogen for reuse in iron reduction, achieving over 94% emissions reduction compared to natural gas DRI systems.
• FuelCell EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner in solid-oxide electrolyzer technology research project with University of Wisconsin-Madison for decarbonization of steel production.
• Northshore MiningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthshore Mining supplies iron ore pellets to Cleveland-Cliffs' steelmaking operations. Mesabi Trust holds mineral interests over part of Mesabi Iron Range and earns escalating royalty payments from Northshore on every ton of iron ore pellets shipped.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nucor Corporation: Nucor is the largest steel producer in the United States and a direct competitor in flat-rolled steel via its EAF-based sheet mills, competing head-to-head with Cleveland-Cliffs for automotive and construction customers.
• Steel Dynamics, Inc. Steel Dynamics operates EAF-based flat-rolled steel mills serving automotive, construction, and energy end markets, directly overlapping with Cleveland-Cliffs in sheet products and AHSS.
• SSAB AB: SSAB is a Swedish specialty steel producer with a leading position in Advanced High-Strength Steels and a parallel decarbonization roadmap (HYBRIT), making it highly comparable to CLF's AHSS and green steel initiatives.
• POSCO Holdings Inc. POSCO is Korea's largest integrated flat-rolled steel producer and a direct global peer; it is also CLF's new strategic partner and ~10% shareholder under the 2025 MoU, making it both a comparable and a capital/technology partner.
• United States Steel Corporation: U.S. Steel is a leading integrated flat-rolled steel producer with a comparable mine-to-mill footprint and a similar automotive customer base, making it the closest U.S. competitor to Cleveland-Cliffs.
• Gerdau S.A. Gerdau is a major Americas-based long and flat-rolled steel producer with operations in North and South America, comparable to CLF in regional flat-rolled supply and downstream automotive and construction customers.

Emerging players

• Vale S.A. Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore producers and a key upstream peer to CLF's mining operations, supplying global seaborne iron ore that competes with CLF's captive pellets in pricing dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• ArcelorMittal S.A. ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steelmaker and a broad incumbent; CLF acquired its U.S. assets in 2020, and ArcelorMittal remains a global benchmark for integrated flat-rolled production and automotive steel grades.

Regional players

• Ternium S.A. Ternium is a leading Latin American flat-rolled steel producer with automotive-focused product lines; it competes with CLF in automotive steel specifications and serves as a regional benchmark for the Americas.
• Algoma Steel Group Inc. Algoma is a Canadian integrated flat-rolled steel producer based in Sault Ste. Marie, comparable to Cleveland-Cliffs' Stelco asset in Hamilton and a direct regional competitor in the Ontario/Canadian flat-rolled market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/live/r0V7xVTN6R4?si=OpwURQ8uR6HCZikB&t=1186
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cleveland-cliffs
• Facebookfacebook.com/ClevelandCliffsInc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cleveland Cliffs