Steel Dynamics operates steel mini-mills that recycle scrap metal into new steel products, along with steel fabrication and metals recycling operations, using electric arc furnace technology rather than the traditional blast furnace process used by older integrated steel producers. Electric arc furnace mini-mills are generally more flexible and lower-cost than traditional integrated steel mills, since they can run on scrap steel rather than requiring iron ore and coal inputs, and they can more easily adjust production levels to match demand. The company's vertically integrated operations span steel production, downstream fabrication of steel products, and metals recycling, capturing margin across multiple stages of the steel supply chain rather than just raw steel production. Steel Dynamics' profitability is closely tied to steel prices and demand from construction, automotive and industrial end markets, along with the spread between scrap metal costs and finished steel prices.