NEWS RELEASES - 2001

(Washington DC) - American specialty steel producers continue to lose more than 25% domestic market share to export-led strategies of foreign countries and producers taking advantage of the U.S. being the largest and most open market in the world. Domestic producers have called upon Bush Administration officials to move promptly to address pressing trade issues.

According to the latest data released today by the Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA), last year imports of all specialty steel captured 27% of the U.S. market in the eleven-month January/November period. Stainless steel, the industry's largest product line, also lost a 27% U.S. market share to imports during the same period.

"As an industry, we are heartened by the new Administration's recognition that steel industry trade issues are matters of high priority. During their Senate nomination hearings, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, both with private sector experience in the metals industry, commented on the difficulties faced by the steel industry. We hope the Bush Administration and the new Congress will act aggressively to deal with the trade issues that impact specialty steel producers and other sectors of the steel industry as well. We want to work with the new Administration to fashion short- and long-term solutions to these vital issues," stated H. L. Kephart, SSINA Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer of G.O. Carlson, Inc., a specialty steel producer in Thorndale, PA.

"The United States is the major open market in the world. Foreign governments subsidize many specialty steel producers, so production and sales decisions are often influenced more by political and economic policy than by prevailing market conditions," explained Kephart. "We will continue to file trade cases to redress practices that violate U.S. and international law, such as the antidumping and countervailing duty cases filed late last year on stainless steel bar imports. Virtually all of our unfair trade cases have been successful, proving over and over again that many foreign producers do not play by the rules. But filing trade cases represents a limited tool with which to address the fundamental problems facing the steel industry and should be viewed as only one part of the solution."

The data reflect that total specialty steel imports increased 11% to 835,414 tons in the first eleven months of 2000 compared to the same 1999 period; stainless steel imports increased to 653,343 tons, also an 11% increase. With the exception of stainless steel sheet/strip, imports of every specialty steel product category increased between 3% and 51% with import penetration increasing as much as 8 percentage points for some products.

Stainless steel sheet/strip imports dipped slightly to 366,949 from 372,655 tons, a 2% decrease. This decrease had virtually no impact on import penetration, which was 21% for the January/November period compared to 22% in 1999. Stainless steel plate imports increased 17% to 63,280 from 53,948 tons and import penetration increased 3 percentage points to 27%.

Imports and import penetration of long products, i.e., stainless steel bar, rod and wire, were even more dramatic when comparing the two 11-month periods. Imports of stainless steel bar increased 51% and rod and wire increased 29%. Seventy-five percent of the U .S. market for stainless steel rod was captured by imports, up 6 percentage points over 1999. Import penetration for stainless steel bar was 47% and wire was 37%, an increase of 8 percentage points for both.

Imports of tool and electrical steel increased 3% and 13%, respectively. Import penetration for tool steel was 68% for YTD November 2000, up 3 percentage points from the comparable 1999 period. Electrical steel import penetration dropped one percentage point to 21%.

SSINA is a Washington, DC-based trade association representing virtually all continental specialty steel producers. Specialty steels are high technology, high value stainless and other specialty alloy products. While shipments of specialty steel account for only 2% of all steel shipped in North America, annual revenues of approximately $8 billion account for over 14% of the total value of all steel shipped.

David A. Hartquist, an international trade attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC, serves as lead counsel to the SSINA.

Note to Editors: See attached tables for more information on U.S. imports, consumption and market penetration data; and bar chart reflecting the 15-month trend of specialty steel imports between September 1999 and November 2000.

Prepared by Georgetown Economic Services for the Specialty Steel Industry of North America

NOTE:Changes in import penetration are percentage point changes.

*Imports adjusted to exclude hot bands imported for re-rolling and reported under shipments.

**Shipments for 2000 estimated and subject to revision when actual data is received.