Olympic Steel, Inc. Announces Authorization of Stock Repurchase

Olympic Steel, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZEUS), a leading national metals service center, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 550,000 shares of Olympic Steel’s common stock. Olympic Steel may utilize various methods to effect the repurchases, which could include open market repurchases, negotiated block transactions, accelerated stock repurchases or open market solicitations for shares, all or some of which may be effected through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The timing of repurchases will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, and limitations under the Company's credit agreement. Repurchases may be discontinued at any time.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "should," "intend," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "project," "plan," "potential," or "continue," as well as the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general and global business, economic, financial and political conditions, including the ongoing effects of the global economic recovery; competitive factors such as the availability, global production levels and pricing of metals, industry shipping and inventory levels and rapid fluctuations in customer demand and metals pricing; cyclicality and volatility within the metals industry; the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and the related impact on foreign steel pricing, U.S. exports, and foreign imports to the U.S.; the increased levels of imported steel in the United States; the availability and costs of transportation and logistical services; the successes of our strategic efforts and initiatives to increase sales volumes, maintain or improve working capital turnover and free cash flows, improve our customer service, and achieve cost savings, including our recently launched internal program to improve earnings; our ability to generate free cash flow through operations and limited future capital expenditures, reduce inventory and repay debt within anticipated time frames; events or circumstances that could impair or adversely impact the carrying value of any of our assets; risks and uncertainties associated with intangible assets, including additional impairment charges related to indefinite lived intangible assets; events or circumstances that could adversely impact the successful operation of our processing equipment and operations; the amounts, successes and our ability to continue our capital investments and strategic growth initiatives, including the Winder, Georgia cut-to-length stretcher leveler project, and our business information system implementations; the successes of our operational excellence initiatives to improve our operating, cultural and management systems and reduce our costs; the ability to comply with the terms of our asset-based credit facility; the ability of our customers and third parties to honor their agreements related to derivative instruments; customer, supplier and competitor consolidation, bankruptcy or insolvency; reduced production schedules, layoffs or work stoppages by our own, our suppliers' or customers' personnel; the impacts of union organizing activities and the success of union contract renewals; the timing and outcomes of inventory lower of cost or market adjustments, especially during periods of declining market pricing; the ability of our customers (especially those that may be highly leveraged, and those with inadequate liquidity) to maintain their credit availability; the inflation or deflation existing within the metals industry, as well as our product mix and inventory levels on hand, which can impact our cost of materials sold as a result of the fluctuations in the last-in, first-out, or LIFO, inventory reserve; the adequacy of our existing information technology and business system software, including duplication and security processes; the adequacy of our efforts to mitigate cyber security threats; access to capital and global credit markets; our ability to pay regular quarterly cash dividends and the amounts and timing of any future dividends; the enacted federal healthcare legislation's impact on the healthcare benefits required to be provided by us and the impact of such legislation on our compensation and administrative costs; and unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters, including any developments that would require any increase in our costs for such contingencies.

About Olympic Steel

Founded in 1954, Olympic Steel is a leading U.S. metals service center focused on the direct sale and distribution of large volumes of processed carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate steel and aluminum products. The Company's CTI subsidiary is a leading distributor of steel tubing, bar, pipe, valves and fittings, and fabricates pressure parts for the electric utility industry. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Olympic Steel operates from 35 facilities in North America.

For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.olysteel.com or www.b2i.us/profiles/investor/ContactUs.asp?BzID=2195

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