Fontana, CA.-- Today California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) reported $86,000 in net income for the fourth quarter with an EBITDA totaling $12.2 million. Outstanding debt at year-end was $179 million. Excess availability under the Company’s revolving credit facility at December 31, 2001 exceeded $63 million with a cash balance of $8.8 million. These results were a respectable turn around from the net loss of $3.5 million in the third quarter, placing CSI back in the positive again. For the year, CSI generated an EBITDA of $40.2 million and a net loss of $3.7 million.

Lourenço Gonçalves, President and CEO, commented, “When compared to the massive problems encountered by our industry this year, CSI did okay in 2001. Our employees worked in an extremely safe manner and CSI has not experienced a lost workday injury in over one year. This is even more admirable considering we established a new record of 1,828,371 tons shipped in the year. We concluded 2001 in good shape and are prepared to compete aggressively in 2002.”

CSI’s achieved strong shipments of 450,000 tons in what is normally a seasonally weaker fourth quarter and exceeded the shipments in the same quarter last year by an expressive 20%. CSI’s average sales price for the current quarter was approximately $66 lower than fourth quarter 2000. Sales volumes for the quarter were as follows (net tons):

Average slab consumption costs (including the FOB slab price, ocean freight, unloading charges, duties, and rail freight from the port of Los Angeles to CSI’s Fontana works) for the quarter was approximately $37 per ton lower when compared to the fourth quarter of 2000.

Operating data for the three and twelve month periods (in thousands) are as follows:

In other news,

During December 2001, CSI informed its customers that prices would be raised by 3% - 10% on all flat rolled products. These new prices would be effective on all shipments beginning March 1, 2002.

Also during December the International Trade Commission (ITC) forwarded its remedy recommendations to the President in the Section 201-trade case. A majority of the ITC’s commissioners recommended that steel slabs should be subject to a tariff rate quota in the first year of 7 million tons tariff-free with a 20% tariff on import tonnage exceeding 7 million. CSI continues to press for no import limitations on slab as CSI believes that imported steel slab is a solution to, not a cause of, the domestic steel industry’s problem. Alternatively, CSI is asking the President to modify the ITC’s recommendation to allow the first year importation of up to 9 million tons of slab tariff-free with no more than a 10% tariff on tonnage exceeding 9 million.

On January 10th, the Commerce Department concluded in the Section 232 investigation that there is no evidence that the importation of iron ore and steel slab threaten to impair U.S. national security. CSI was pleased to see the Commerce Department’s positive view on imports of slab.

This release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future financial results. Actual results may differ materially as a result of factors over which the Company has no control. These risk factors and additional information are included in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.