No, savings == investment because they're two sides of the same thing, like corresponding entries in two ledgers. If one entity saves (that is, produces more t

No, savings == investment because they're two sides of the same thing, like corresponding entries in two ledgers. If one entity saves (that is, produces more than they consume + invest), those 'savings' are realized elsewhere in the economy where some other entity 'spends' more than it produces. That excess spending is either consumption or investment. Therefore, net savings == net investment, where net savings means all savings - all consumption. To engage with your specific example: steel that sits in a warehouse is 'investment' that earns zero return; if it eventually gets thrown away it's either consumption or investment with a loss of principal. If it's turned into washing machines, it's investment that realizes a return (that return could be negative if the price of steel goes down in the interim). Does that make sense? I'm not really the best person to explain this stuff, since I haven't studied it formally. Much of what I read assumes a working knowledge, which I've cobbled together from mpettis and others.