Raw steel production in Indiana rose by 1.2 million tons last year to 24.4 million tons.

The three-year project will focus on how to add larger amounts of silicon, which helps conserve energy, to the small steel components of electric motors.

For example, higher U.S. taxes on Chinese steel imports could make China chooser to buy fewer American products, including those from Indiana.

The first installment of the new Global Steel Trade Monitor ranks China first in the world for steel exports, and the U.S. first for imports.