Rising Costs Push Timken Steel Bar Prices Higher

CANTON, Ohio, March 10 -- In response to sharply higher raw material and energy costs, The Timken Corporation today announced price increases on steel bar products. Prices will increase by $20 per ton for all sizes and grades of carbon and alloy steel bars effective with new orders received beginning March 14, 2003.

In addition to the base price increase on steel bars, all thermal-treated bar products will incur an additional increase. Single thermal-treated bar products will increase by an additional $20 per ton, except for spheroidize- annealing which, along with double and triple thermal treatments, will increase by $40 per ton.

"This new pricing structure places Timken more in line with current domestic market prices," said Robert N. Keeler, director - steel sales - North and South America. "The industry has seen escalating bar prices due to increasing raw material and energy costs. Rapidly rising natural gas prices have further impacted our heat-treated steel products."

The Timken Corporation is a U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of The Timken Company ( www.timken.com ). The Timken Company is a leading international manufacturer of highly engineered bearings, alloy and specialty steels and components, and a provider of related products and services. Following its February 2003 acquisition of The Torrington Company, Timken employs 28,000 people worldwide in operations in 29 countries. In 2002, the combined companies had sales of approximately $3.8 billion.

  For Additional Information:
  Jason Saragian
  Senior Marketing Communications Representative
  (330) 471-3514
  www.timken.com/media

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