Cleveland-Cliffs Business Model Canvas

Integrated logistics partners move ore, HBI, slabs and finished coils between mines and mills, supporting Cleveland-Cliffs' 2024 steel shipments of about 11.4 million net tons; rail and lake shipping lower unit haul costs and shorten cycle times versus road haul. Rail and lake logistics reduce transit variability, while port access on the Great Lakes enables bulk handling and winter contingency routing. Coordinated schedules with carriers sustain just-in-time deliveries to OEMs.

Cleveland-Cliffs secures long-term OEM supply agreements, stabilizing volumes and enabling co-development for lightweighting. Long-term raw-material contracts totaled about $6.3B in 2024, supporting integrated scrap, ore and coal supply. Logistics and tech partners enabled ~11.4M net tons shipped and ~12M long tons crude capacity, improving utilization and ESG performance.

Product development and metallurgical R&D at Cleveland-Cliffs tailors advanced high-strength steels for automotive and infrastructure applications, supporting the company’s ~26,000-employee North American operations. Lab testing validates formability, weldability and corrosion resistance through standardized mechanical and salt-spray protocols, reducing field failures. Close collaboration with OEMs and tier suppliers shortens qualification cycles by roughly 20–30%, while data-driven metallurgy refines recipes to lift mill yields and lower scrap rates.

Cliffs mines and pelletizes ~65% Fe ore to secure feedstock and lower impurities. Integrated steelmaking (blast furnaces, EAFs, HBI) supports >10 Mtpa flat-rolled capacity and downstream coating for OEMs. R&D shortens qualification 20–30% and QA/traceability cover ~12 Mt net tons with IATF 16949/ISO 9001 compliance; ~26,000 employees sustain S&OP/JIT logistics.

Experienced operators and metallurgists at Cleveland-Cliffs deliver high-quality steel through proprietary process controls and continuous improvement. A robust training and safety culture sustains uptime and regulatory compliance across plants. Cross-functional teams drive yield and energy-efficiency gains by integrating operations, maintenance, and metallurgy. This accumulated know-how and embedded practices are difficult for competitors to replicate.

Proprietary iron reserves ~1.8B long tons and consolidated crude steel capacity ~16M LT (2024) secure feedstock and scale. Long-term utility contracts (10+ years), rail (≈70% US freight ton-miles) and Great Lakes shipping (~50M t/yr) ensure logistics resilience. Multi-year OEM contracts (Ford, Stellantis) and proprietary metallurgical know-how raise switching costs.

Mine-to-mill integration at Cleveland-Cliffs cuts input costs by linking its ore mines to steelmaking, leveraging roughly 20 million tonnes per year of steelmaking capacity so fixed overheads are spread across scale; HBI production (~3 Mtpa) and targeted scrap blending optimize metallics costs, and these efficiencies supported competitive pricing and margin resilience in 2024.

OEM-grade flat-rolled quality meets IATF 16949/ISO 9001 and supports major automakers; Cleveland-Cliffs is North America’s largest flat-rolled producer in 2024.

Vertical mine-to-coil integration yields ~20 Mtpa steelmaking capacity and ~3 Mtpa HBI, shortening lead times and lowering input cost volatility.

Lower-carbon pathway via HBI+EAF cuts CO2 intensity (0.4–0.9 vs 1.8–2.0 tCO2/t) and boosts circularity for customers.

Collaborative engineering sessions with OEMs refine grade selection and forming, shortening development cycles; Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest North American flat-rolled steel producer, reported $25.8B revenue in 2024. Real-time data sharing optimizes line setups and has cut scrap rates by up to 12% in pilot programs. Rigorous PPAP and APQP governance supports on-time automotive launches, strengthening customer loyalty and repeat business.

Dedicated account teams manage OEMs including Ford, GM and Stellantis, supporting multi-year contracts and aligning forecasts across Cleveland-Cliffs’ ~15 million net ton annual capacity; company revenue was $25.8B in 2024. Rapid-response teams provide 24-hour initial assessment for quality claims; pilot programs cut scrap by up to 12%. VMI and JIT lower customer inventory and improve dock reliability, strengthening long-term partnerships.

Automotive and infrastructure buyers route large orders through formal RFPs and contract tenders, where competitive bids secure multi-year volumes (typically 3–5 years) that underpin supply planning. Technical submissions—coating, tensile properties, just-in-time logistics—differentiate offers beyond price and win premium allocations. Awarded lots stabilize mill runs and enable continuous operation, helping Cleveland-Cliffs match capacity to contracted demand.

Account executives manage strategic customers, leveraging Cleveland-Cliffs' 2024 scale (revenue $24.3B) to secure long-term contracts.

EDI and portals cut order-to-delivery by up to 25% and reduce invoice discrepancies ~40%.

RFPs win 3–5 year volumes that stabilize mill runs (~12M net tons annual output).

Service centers (slit/blank) extend reach, shorten lead times and boost utilization.

Appliance and consumer durables manufacturers demand cold-rolled and coated steel with consistent aesthetics and corrosion resistance to meet retail finish standards. Predictable, forecastable demand tied to 2024 retail cycles enables optimized mill scheduling and inventory planning. High consistency from Cleveland-Cliffs reduces downstream rework costs and warranty exposure, improving OEM margins and supply-chain reliability.

Automotive OEMs/Tier‑1 buy AHSS/coated flat‑rolled with PPAP-level acceptance often <50 ppm and 5–7 year programs. Construction fabricators require AASHTO/ASTM plate; Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ~110 billion for roads/bridges boosts multi-year demand. Service centers drove ~30% of U.S. flat‑rolled coil distribution in 2024. Energy/pipeline buyers require API/ISO-certified grades and strict QA.

Skilled union labor—roughly 25,000 employees company-wide—underpins Cleveland‑Cliffs operations and is largely represented by United Steelworkers agreements. Ongoing training and safety programs are recurring capitalized and operating investments to lower incident rates and preserve throughput. Benefits and pension obligations are material line items in annual reports, and historically stable labor relations help minimize unplanned downtime.

Raw materials (~55% of COGS in 2024) and energy drive costs; upstream integration cut third‑party feedstock to ~30% while blending saved ~$10/ton and hedges cut input volatility ~40%. Logistics (> $500M in 2024), union labor (~25,000) and D&A (~$1.3B in 2023) plus 2024 capex guidance ~$1.1B are key recurring expenses.

Iron ore pellets sold to Cleveland-Cliffs’ own steel mills and external customers totaled about 27.0 million long tons in 2024; pellet premiums, driven by grade and market balance, averaged roughly $30/ton in 2024 but ranged widely by quality and region; long-term offtake contracts covered an estimated 65% of sales in 2024, stabilizing volumes; vertical integration enabled capture of upstream-to-mill margin, contributing materially to EBITDA per ton.

Flat-rolled steel sales drove Cleveland-Cliffs’ 2024 net sales of $33.6B, with pricing tied to market indices, surcharges and contracts. Coated/galvanized products fetched ~150 USD/ton premiums and coated capacity ran ~80% in 2024, lifting margins. Iron ore pellets sold ~27.0M long tons in 2024 with average pellet premiums near $30/ton. By-products, HBI and processing fees added incremental revenue and margin resilience.