Imagine the weight of 24 elephants bearing down on a tiny spot the size of a postage stamp.
That's how much pressure Nippon Steel Corp.'s strongest metal can withstand. The firm is pushing the envelope in order to stay relevant as the auto industry, its most important customer, goes through major changes.
Steel has been the main material in cars since Henry Ford started mass producing them a century ago. But the heavy metal is falling out of favor because automakers can't meet new fuel efficiency standards or build long-range battery-powered cars without shedding precious pounds. Several years ago, Ford Motor Co. decided to build its best-selling F-150 pickup truck mostly out of aluminum — and steel-makers have been panicking ever since.