This written and verbal presentation may contain forward-looking statements regarding the
outlook for the Company's financial results including net earnings, product pricing
and demand, production rates, inventory levels, impact of acquisitions, credit
conditions and general market conditions. These forward-looking statements
generally can be identified by phrases such as the company or its management
“expect,” “anticipates,” “believe,”
“ought,” “should,” “likely,”
“appears,” “projected,” “forecast,”
“outlook,”
“will” or other words or phrases of similar impact. There is inherent risk and uncertainty in
any forward-looking statements. Variances will occur and some could be materially
different from management's current opinion. Developments that could impact
the Company's
expectations include construction activity, difficulties or delays in the execution of construction
contracts resulting in cost overruns or contract disputes, metals pricing over
which the Company exerts little influence, interest rate changes, increased capacity and
product availability from competing steel minimills and other steel suppliers
including import quantities and pricing, court decisions, industry
consolidation or changes in production capacity or utilization, the ability to
integrate acquisitions into operations; global factors including political and
military uncertainties, credit availability, currency fluctuations, energy and
supply prices and decisions by governments impacting the level of steel imports
and pace of overall economic activity, particularly China.