Since both firms sell the iron ore to their own steel mills in the United States, they have no interest in defending prices; on the contrary, it suits them that the raw material should be as cheap as possible. The world price of iron, which fell sharply between 1958 and 1964, has been relatively stable since and remains so; meanwhile, the price of steel has continued to rise. Steel is produced in the world’s wealthy centers, iron in the poor suburbs; steel pays “labor aristocracy” wages, iron mere subsistence wages.
