Prospecting for steel: Forecasting techniques and case studies

Futures research in the British Steel Corporation is carried out by its Forward Technology Unit. In this article the style that the Unit has developed is described, demonstrating how, provided it is carefully focused and blended with a good proportion of inventiveness, forecasting can be of particular value to this very capital-intensive industry. Use of methodologies is illustrated in three case studies and a new approach to forecasting discontinuities is suggested.