Hot steel.

The steel industry is surging and at least one local company is looking to benefit.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Corp., a Los Angeles metals processor, announced it will acquire Clayton Metals Inc., a Wood Dale, Ill., processor and distributor of steel, aluminum, copper and brass products.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but for a company with over $6 billion in annual revenue, it is unlikely to make a major impact on Reliance's finances. Clayton recorded sales of $123 million last year.

Reliance said Clayton's management will remain in place.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the month.

Reliance is no stranger to the acquisition market. Since going public in 1994, it has made about 40 other buys.

But the $130 billion U.S. steel market is still highly fragmented, analysts say, giving companies like Reliance plenty of opportunity to expand further.

Indeed, Americans can't seem to get enough steel. The Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute announced that U.S. steel imports reached their highest point of the year in May, with 3.21 million tons coming in.

But the second quarter tends to be the strongest for the steel market, so this growth likely won't keep up too long.

Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at [phone], ext. 251, or at [e-mail].