Keith Busse Steel Quotations

Revenue and net income exceeded our preliminary views principally due to a record volume of steel shipments. Our mills were able to take advantage of the continuing strong market demand for flat-rolled steel and wide-flange beams, increasing production rates and enjoying record shipping volumes.

We have made excellent progress in the structural steel business since we began shipping wide-flange beams in 2002. Recent strength in non-residential construction has led to a record order backlog at Columbia City and has resulted in current production and shipping rates of nearly one million tons per year.

This combination further diversifies Steel Dynamics' product offering, provides additional penetration of the joist, truss and girder markets and provides Steel Dynamics with its first foray into the processed raw materials arena.

This is not trade based on comparative advantage. We are confronted with an economic crisis in the U.S. steel industry, stemming directly from the structural mismanagement by several governments of their economies. Neither the U.S. government, nor its steel industry, can afford to wait for the trade law process to take its course.

In the second quarter we expect to see continued strength in the steel marketplace. Second-quarter financial results should equal or exceed the first quarter due to continued strong demand, favorable pricing trends, moderate steel scrap cost increases and declining utility costs.