Carpenter Technology Pleased By Preliminary Stainless Bar Ruling.

Business Editors

WYOMISSING, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2001

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE: CRS) said today that it was pleased by the U.S. Commerce Department's preliminary ruling that stainless steel bar products from five countries were sold in the United States below fair value, triggering duties on their future shipments into the country.

"Imports of stainless steel bar have increased recently to record levels, and the Commerce Department's preliminary determination confirms that dumping by foreign producers in the five countries is the root cause of that surge," said William J. Pendleton, Carpenter's director of corporate affairs.

In December, Carpenter joined with four other domestic manufacturers of stainless bar in a broad dumping action against six foreign producers -- in France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom -- charging them with unfairly pricing imports of stainless bar in the United States.

Italy also was charged with government subsidization of certain Italian producers in a concurrent countervailing duty petition, which sought additional duties to offset those subsidies.

Today, the Commerce Department announced preliminary dumping duties on bar shipped from five of the six countries, as follows:

--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
                                                     Preliminary
Country         Producer                          dumping duties (%)
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
France          Ugine                                  4.30
                Aubert et Duval                       28.07
                All others                             4.30
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
Germany         BGH Group                             18.72
                Edestahlwerke   Wsitten-Krefeld       21.03
                Krupp Edelstahlprofile GmBH           21.03
                Einsal                                 6.48
                All others                            17.07
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
Italy           Bedini                                 2.63
                Cogne                                 33.00
                Foroni                                 7.72
                Rodacciai                              4.86
                Valbruna                           de minimis (1.75)
                All others                             7.72
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
South Korea     Changwon                              10.05
                DongBang                               7.3
                All others                             9.4
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
Taiwan          Gloria                                 0
                All others                             0
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------
United Kingdom  Corus                                  6.85
                Crownridge                             6.85
                Firth Rixson                         125.77
                All others                             6.85
--------------- -------------------------------- -------------------

Today's ruling follows a positive preliminary injury determination made by the International Trade Commission, which also rules in trade cases, in February. With this determination, importers of stainless bar from the five countries are required to post bonds to cover the amount of the estimated duties on shipments to the United States.

Full duties would be collected if both the Commerce Department and ITC make final determinations favorable to domestic producers. Final rulings are expected by early next year.

Dumping--selling a product in the United States at less than home market prices or costs--and subsidizing a foreign industry to benefit imports violate World Trade Organization rules and U.S. trade laws.

The stainless bar petition asserted that domestic manufacturers have been forced to lower their U.S. prices to harmful levels to compete against dumped imports, resulting in lower revenues and profits. The volume of imports from the six countries increased significantly over the last several years, with 1999 levels almost 50 percent higher than 1995 levels.

Imports surged even higher in 2000 and have continued above historical levels into 2001.

The preliminary results of the countervailing duty investigation were announced in early June, when a duty of 12.6 percent was assessed.

Stainless steel bar, rod and wire represent more than 40 percent of Carpenter's sales revenues, with stainless steel bar being the highest volume stainless product. Stainless steel bar, produced in a variety of sizes, shapes and finishes, is used to create pumps, valves, fittings, manufacturing equipment and other general industrial products, as well as automotive, aerospace and medical products.

The domestic specialty steel industry has won most of the anti-dumping cases in which it has previously participated. The ITC recently ruled that antidumping orders and related duties on stainless steel bar shipped to the United States by producers in Brazil, India, Japan and Spain should be extended for another five years.

The domestic industry also could benefit from President Bush's recently announced Multilateral Initiative on Steel, designed to restore market forces to the world steel industry and eliminate the practices that harm the domestic industry and its workers.

Carpenter, based in Wyomissing, Pa., manufactures and distributes stainless steel, specialty alloys including titanium alloys, and various engineered products.

In fiscal 2001 (ended June 30, 2001), the company's sales were approximately $1.2 billion, before the adoption of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Staff Accounting Bulletin, Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements (SAB 101). More information about Carpenter is available at www.cartech.com.