Straightline Expands E-enabled Steel Distribution Service to Pittsburgh

Straightline Source, a division of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), America's largest integrated steelmaker, expanded its electronic procurement and online steel distribution service to steel buyers in Pittsburgh, offering instant price quotations, highly competitive prices and on-time delivery for a wide range of carbon flat-rolled steel products.

"Since launching Straightline in the Carolinas late last year, we've been growing by leaps and bounds," said Bob Dryburgh, president of Straightline. "We can clearly see that customers are realizing the value of a distribution business that puts them in control of price and delivery."

Straightline is growing rapidly month over month with more than 1,300 registered users today. Straightline's StraightQuote™ service, which offers price quotations in seconds rather than days the manual way, delivered quotations on nearly 7,000 price inquiries in March, an increase of 75 percent from the prior month. Additionally, since the launch of the business, more than 60 percent of all spot orders have been entered directly by customers through the company's Web site at http://www.straightline.com/.

Straightline's growing steel distribution business is also available to steel buyers from northern Florida up through the Great Lakes region. Additional rollouts are scheduled throughout the year to highly concentrated areas of steel customers across the United States.

The Straightline Solution

Straightline offers direct access for planning and purchasing processed steel products to manufacturers of all sizes that typically do not buy directly from steel producers. Customers can receive instant price quotations and place orders for a variety of carbon flat-roll steel products at http://www.straightline.com/ or by phone with the assistance of knowledgeable customer account managers. Both are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Straightline manages the entire customer relationship and in doing so takes responsibility for all aspects of the transaction, including order acceptance, steel sourcing, inventory management, delivery, customer service and claims.

Straightline currently specializes in the sale and distribution of hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and strip mill plate products. Customers can order custom processed products or select from a catalog of finished goods, and purchases can be made on a spot or contract basis.

Straightline's Customer Advantage

Straightline is able to reduce a customer's total cost of material acquisition by maximizing efficiencies associated with inventory management, material utilization, logistics, planning and order processing. This increased efficiency translates to consistently lower costs for customers.

With Straightline, buyers are in control of all steel buying processes, from pricing through delivery. Buyers can choose from pricing options based on varying combinations of delivery dates and quantities. Straightline also offers just-in-time delivery, allowing customers to receive product when they need it according to their warehouse schedule. In addition, buyers can track purchases and easily check on the delivery status of orders anytime of the day or night at http://www.straightline.com/ or by speaking with a customer account manager at Straightline's 24-hour Customer Care Department.

Furthermore, contract customers benefit from Straightline's variety of proprietary supply chain management tools which enable improved inventory forecasting and planning, thereby improving inventory turns and reducing capital investment.

"We're proud to be one of the first companies to test and utilize the Straightline concept," says Dick Elste, President of Keystone Manufacturing, Inc., of Rochester, Pa., a manufacturer of flat wire belt products for conveyor equipment. "Since Straightline opened for business, it has been a reliable and low-cost source of steel and we will continue to utilize their service because of their customer service and on-time delivery."

Processing Network

Straightline has assembled a network of partners to hold inventory, perform custom processing and deliver finished goods. Processing partners are selected based on rigorous criteria, including ISO certification.

By partnering with Straightline, processors benefit by increasing utilization of their equipment and facilities without the added costs of sales, marketing or inventory, thus improving their overall profitability.

In conjunction with regional expansions, Straightline is also expanding its processor network and enhancing offerings within service areas.

Straightline Registration

Steel buyers who want to learn more, obtain free, no-obligation quotes or place orders with Straightline can do so by registering quickly and conveniently at http://www.straightline.com/ or by calling Straightline Customer Care toll-free at 1-866-252-0488. Instant credit verification is completed online in seconds and buyers are free to make purchases pending credit approval.

Straightline Source is a division of United States Steel Corporation and specializes in an online distribution business for carbon flat-roll steel to customers of all sizes that do not typically buy steel goods directly from steel producers. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Straightline has a growing staff of 120 employees. Visit Straightline at http://www.straightline.com/.

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SOURCE: Straightline Source

Contact: Maggie Bray, +1-412-456-4308, or mbray@magnetcom.com; or Pattie
Sullivan, +1-412-456-4706, or psullivan@magnetcom.com, both of Magnet
Communications for Straightline Source

Website: http://www.straightline.com/

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