IPSCO Inc. Announcement

7 October 1999

IPSCO Inc. Announcement

    REGINA, Saskatchewan--Oct. 6, 1999--IPSCO Inc. (TSE:IPS.) today confirmed that its prices for discrete plate were being increased in both the United States and Canada.
    In the United States its subsidiary IPSCO Steel Inc. has increased transaction prices for new orders for shipment after 1 November by U.S. $20 per ton. Comparable increases of about Cdn.$30 per ton were being put into effect in Canada.
    IPSCO said that a substantial increase in plate imports in the last half of 1998 and early 1999, resulting from the Asian financial crisis, had severely depressed prices and that the change should be viewed as a partial restoration of previous prices as opposed to an inflationary increase. The plate price rise follows increases in the third quarter in hot rolled coil put into place by North American steel producers including IPSCO.
    IPSCO pointed out that its Montpelier, Iowa facility differed from those of most of its North American competitors in that it was a dual purpose plant with its rolling mill capable of producing either 100 percent discrete plate or 100 percent hot rolled coil or any intermediate ratio of each. Consequently the increases in both discrete plate and hot rolled coil will positively impact its bottom line. IPSCO said the combination of high demand on its coil processing and tubular production facilities in the U.S. and Canada, the latter particularly due to increased oil and gas drilling activity, and business booked for third party shipments directly from its steel mills exceeded its production capacity by a forecasted 100,000 tons in the fourth quarter. IPSCO strategy is to maintain its commitments so that it is always "steel short", permitting it to operate its own facilities at capacity. "Clearly that strategy is working," said Ed Tiefenbach.
    This news release contains forward-looking information with respect to IPSCO's operations and beliefs. Actual results may differ from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those discussed in IPSCO's 1998 Annual Report for its fiscal year ended December 31, 1998.