Post Industrial Thoughts

An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette forwarded to me by a friend (really in hopes of inspiring and fine-tuning my capstone project) speaks of US Steel’s involvement in steel production in Eastern Europe. I found this article especially interesting because of my interest in post-industrial cities and also my interest in Croatian Innovation Systems. In my opinion, the article downplayed and oversimplified the downfall of the US steel industry. Although, Serbia was the industrial dominant of the Former Jugoslavia, and arguably may have a tougher road ahead of them than other Jugoslavian countries, the article seems to brush over a lot of the issues associated with why a US company is over there. Many MNC locate in Non-EU countries because of the proximity to the market and the proximity to inputs. I think it is an important concept to mention future and current agglomerations and cluster economies (which was somewhat mentioned, just not in those words). Also, are these steel mills that our country and other post-industrial countries are familiar or are these the “mini-mills” that are mostly used today? And for countries that are trying to compete on a global level, is heavy industry investment a good idea for them in the long run? Just some thoughts.