Introduction

Unless otherwise specified, all references in this annual report to:

“we,” “us,” “our” or “CSN” are to Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional and its consolidated subsidiaries;

“Brazilian government” are to the federal government of the Federative Republic of Brazil;

“real,” “reais” or “R$” are to Brazilianreais, the official currency of Brazil;

“U.S. dollars,” “$,” “US$“U.S.$” or “USD” are to United States dollars;

“billions” are to thousands of millions, “km” are to kilometers, “m” are to meters, “mt” or “tons” are to metric tons, “mtpy” are to metric tons per year and “MW” are to megawatts;

“TEUs” are to twenty-foot equivalent units;

“consolidated financial statements” are to the consolidated financial statements of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional and its consolidated subsidiaries reported in International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the IASB – IFRS as of December 31, 2009, 20102011 and 20112012 and for the years ended December��December 31, 2009,  2010, 2011 and 2011,2012, together with the corresponding ReportReports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm;

 “ADSs” are to CSN’s American Depositary Shares and “ADRs” are to CSN’s American Depositary Receipts; and

“Brazil” is to the Federative Republic of Brazil.

IFRS Summary and Financial Data

The following tables present summary historical consolidated financial and operating data for us for each of the periods indicated. Solely for the convenience of the reader,real amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 20112013 have been translated into U.S. dollars at the commercial market rate in effect as of December 31, 20112013 as reported by the Central Bank of R$1.87582.343 to US$U.S.$1.00. The selected financial data below should be read in conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.”

We have applied, beginning January 1, 2013, IFRS 10 - Consolidated Financial Statements, which establishes principles for the presentation and preparation of consolidated financial statements when an entity controls one or more entities, and IFRS 11 - Joint Arrangements, which requires a new valuation of joint arrangements, focusing on the rights and obligations of the arrangement, instead of its legal form. The amendments provide additional transition relief, limiting the requirement to provide adjusted comparative information to only the preceding comparative period. We applied this transition relief as described above with respect to the adoption of IFRS 10 and IFRS 11. The financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the opening balance sheet  as of January 1, 2012 have been  restated for the effects of the retrospective adoption of these new standards. Our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2011 remain unchanged and as disclosed previously. The selected financial data for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 have not been retrospectively adjusted and, as a result, are not comparable with the information as of and for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012.

The following tables present the selling rate, expressed inreais per U.S. dollar (R$/US$U.S.$), for the periods indicated.indicated:

We will pay any cash dividends and make any other cash distributions with respect to our common shares in Brazilian currency. Accordingly, exchange rate fluctuations may affect the U.S. dollar amounts received by ADS holders on conversion into U.S. dollars of such distributions for payment by the depositary. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between thereal and the U.S. dollar may also affect the U.S. dollar equivalent of thereal price of our common shares on BM&FBOVESPA.

3B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

3C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

·      interest rates;

·      exchange controls;

·      currency fluctuations;

·      inflation; 

·      price volatility of raw materials and our final products;

·      lack of infrastructure in Brazil;

·      energy shortages and rationing programs;

·      liquidity of the domestic capital and lending markets;

·      regulatory policy for the mining and steel industries;

·      environmental policies and regulations;

·      tax policies and regulations;regulations, including frequent changes in tax regulations that may result in uncertainties as to future taxation; and

·      other political, social and economic developments in or affecting Brazil.

Uncertainty over whetherRecent economic and political instability may lead to legislative or regulatory changes that could negatively affect us. In addition, such changes may also lead to further economic uncertainty and to heightened volatility and negative perception of the Brazilian government will make changes affecting these and other factorssecurities markets which may create instability. This may also adversely affect us and the trading price of our business, financial conditioncommon shares.

Political crisis in Brazil in the past have affected the development of the Brazilian economy and resultsthe trust of operations.foreign investors, as well as the public in general. Recent popular unrest in Brazil has led to large demonstrations in mid-2013, which serves as an example of the population’s growing dissatisfaction with corruption and certain political measures.

Exchange rate instability may adversely affect us and the market price of our common shares and ADSs.

Government efforts to combat inflation may hinder the growth of the Brazilian economy and could harm us.

Brazil has in the past experienced extremely high rates of inflation, which has led the government to pursue monetary policies that have contributed to one of the highest real interest rates in the world. Since the implementation of theRealPlan in 1994, the annual rate of inflation in Brazil has decreased significantly, as measured by the National Broad Consumer Price Index (Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo, or IPCA). Inflation measured by the IPCA index was 4.3%6.5%, 5.8% and 5.9% in 2011, 2012 and 6.5% in 2009, 2010 and 2011,2013, respectively. Inflation and the Brazilian government’s inflation containment measures, mainly through monetary policies, have had and may have significant effects on the Brazilian economy and our business. Tight monetary policies with high interest rates may restrict Brazil’s growth and the availability of credit. Conversely, more lenient policies and interest rate decreases may trigger increases in inflation, with the consequent reaction of sudden and significant interest rate increases, which could negatively affect Brazilian economic growth and us. In addition, we may not be able to adjust the price of our products in the foreign markets to offset the effects of inflation in Brazil on our cost structure, given that most of our costs are incurred inreais. 

Developments and perception of risk in other countries, especially in the United States, China and other emerging market countries, may adversely affect the trading price of Brazilian securities, including our common shares and ADSs.

The market value of securities of Brazilian companies is affected to varying degrees by economic and market conditions in other countries, including the United States, China, Latin American andespecially other emerging market countries. Although economic conditions in these countries may differ significantly from economic conditions in Brazil, investors’ reactions to developments in these other countries may have an adverse effect on the market value of securities of Brazilian issuers. Crisis in, or economic policies of, other countries may diminish investorinvestors' interest in securities of Brazilian issuers, including ours. This could adversely affect the trading price of our common shares and/or ADSs, and could also make it more difficult or impossible for us to access the capital markets and finance our operations on acceptable terms.

Any prolonged interruption in the supply of raw materials, natural gas or electricity, or substantial increases in their prices, could materially and adversely affect us. These interruptions and price increases may be a result of changes in laws or trade regulations, the availability and cost of transportation, suppliers’ allocations to other purchasers, interruptions in production by suppliers or accidents or similar events on suppliers’ premises or along the supply chain. Our inability to pass those cost increases on to our customers or to meet our customers’ demands because of non-availability of key raw materials could also have a material and adverse effect on us.

Our steel products face significant competition, including price competition, from other domestic or foreign producers, which may adversely affect our profitability and market share.

The global steel industry is highly competitive with respect to price, product quality and customer service, as well as technological advances that enable steel companies to reduce their production costs. Brazil’s export of steel products is influenced by several factors, including the protectionist policies of other countries, disputes regarding these policies before the WTO (World Trade Organization), the Brazilian government’s exchange rate policy and the growth rate of the world economy. Further, continuous advances in materials sciences and resulting technologies have given rise to improvements in products such as plastics, aluminum, ceramics and glass that permit them to substitute steel. Due to high start-up costs, the economics of operating a steelworks facility on a continuous basis may encourage mill operators to maintain high levels of output, even in times of low demand, which increases the pressure on industry profit margins. In addition, downward pressure on steel prices by our competitors may affect our profitability.

The steel industry has historically suffered from structural over-capacity which has recently worsened due to a substantial increase in production capacity in the developing world and particularly in China and India as well as other emerging markets. China is now, by far, the largest global steel producer by a large margin and, in addition, Chinese and other countries’certain steel exports, orexporting countries have favorable conditions favorable to them (excess steel capacity, undervalued currency or higher market prices for steel in markets outside of such countries), which can have a significant impact on steel prices in other markets.othermarkets. If we are not able to remain competitive in relation to China or other steel-producing countries, in the future our results may be adversely affected.affected in the future.

Our activities depend on authorizations, concessions, permits and licenses. Changes of laws and regulations and government measures could adversely affect us.

Our activities depend onare subject to governmental authorizations, concessions, licenses or permits, andwhich include environmental licenses fromfor our infrastructure projects and concessions, bysuch as for our railways. Although we believe that such authorizations, concession, licenses and permits will be granted and/or renewed as and when requested, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to maintain, renew or obtain any required authorization, concession, license or permit, as well as that no additional requirement will be imposed in connection with such request. Authorizations, concessions, licenses or permits required for the development of our activities may require that we meet certain performance thresholds or completion milestones. In case we are unable to meet these thresholds or milestones, we may lose or not be able to obtain or renew such authorizations, concessions, licenses or permits. We also cannot guarantee that our controlled entities that hold concessions will timely comply with its obligations under any relevant Concession Agreement or in Terms of Undertaking (Termos de Ajustamento de Conduta), or TACs, entered into with governmental regulatory agenciesagencies. Any of these events may result in the countriesloss or early termination of concessions. The loss or inability to obtain and/or renew any authorization, concession, permit or license, or changes in whichthe regulatory framework that we operate. Ifoperate in, may materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, if laws and regulations applicable to these authorizations, concessions, permits or licenses change, modifications to our technologies and operations could be required, and we may need to make unexpected capital expenditures. These changes and additional costs may have a negative impact on the profitability of our projects or even make certain projects economically or otherwise unfeasible.  Also, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to maintain, renew or obtain any required authorization, concession, permit or license. Our authorizations, concessions, permits and licenses may require that we meet certain performance thresholds or completion milestones. In case we are unable to meet these thresholds or milestones we may lose our authorizations, concessions, permits and licenses. The loss or inability to obtain any authorization, concession, permit or license, or changes in the regulatory framework we operate in, may materially and adversely affect us.

·        our efforts to develop projects according to schedule may be hampered by a lack of infrastructure, including availability of overburden and waste disposal areas as well as reliable power and water supplies;

·        we may fail to obtain, lose, or experience delays or higher than expected costs in obtaining or renewing the required permits, authorizations, licenses, concessions and/or regulatory approvals to build or continue a project; and

·        changes in market conditions, laws or regulations may make a project less profitable than expected or economically or otherwise unfeasible.

Any one or a combination of the factors described above may materially and adversely affect us.

NewCurrent, new or more stringent environmental, safety and health regulations imposed on us may result in increased liabilities and increased capital expenditures.

Our steel making, mining, cement, energy and logistics facilities are subject to a broad range of laws, regulations and permit requirements in Brazil relating mainly to the protection of health, safety and the environment.

Brazilian pollution standards are expected to continue to change, including the introduction of new effluent and air emission standards, water management and solid waste-handling regulations, andrestrictions on business expansions, native forest preservation requirements, in rural land.and the obligation to create privately owned conservation areas, or RPPNs as an environmental compensation for industrial and mining expansion projects. The Brazilian government has recently adopted a decree under the national policy for climate change national policy (Política Nacional de Mudanças Climáticas) that contemplates specific limits ona 5% reduction in carbon emissions projected for 2020 for the industrial sector (including steel making and cement sectors) and an action plan for the sector is being developed by a technical committee composed of representatives from the government, industry associations and academia. The target reduction for the mining sector is yet to be established. In addition, the state of Rio de Janeiro, through its State Environmental Agency (Instituto Estadual do Ambiente), or INEA, issued a law that requires steel making and cement facilities to present action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when renewing or applying for operational licenses. The federal government has also established in 2012a national policy for solid waste (Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos), which provides for more strict guidelines for solid waste management and phased in through 2020. These limits will be established jointlyindustry targets for reverse logistics as part of the environmental licensing process. Finally, a new regulatory framework for mining operations is currently being developed by industrythe Department of Geology, Mining and government representativesMineral Processing from the Ministry of Mines and will include goals for reduction of emissions, including gradual measures at three-year intervals,Energy, which may require a material investment by us.impose stricter regulations on our mining operations, including requests for environmental recovery of areas and investments for the granting of mining concessions.

New or more stringent environmental, safety and health standards imposed on us could require us to make increased capital expenditures, create additional legal preservation areas in our properties, or make modifications in operating practices or projects. As a result, the amount and timing of future environmental and related expenditures may vary substantially from those currently anticipated. These additional costs may also have a negative impact on the profitability of the projects we intend to implement or may make such projects economically unfeasible. We could also be exposed to civil penalties, criminal sanctions and closure orders for non-compliance with these regulations. Waste disposal and emission practices may result in the need for us to clean up or retrofit our facilities at substantial costs and/or could result in substantial liabilities. Environmental legislation restrictions imposed by foreign markets to which we export our products may also materially and adversely affect our export sales and us.

In addition, we may be requested to enter into TACs with Brazilian regulators and agencies that require us to minimize or eliminate the risk of environmental impacts in the areas where we operate. If we are unable to comply with a TAC in a timely manner, we may be exposed to penalties, such as fines, revocation of permits, or closure of facilities. See “Item 4B. Government Regulation and Other Legal Matters – Environmental Expenditures and Claims and Item 8A – Financial Information – Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information – Legal Proceedings.”

The Company has high-quality iron ore reserves throughin the Casa de Pedra mine and Namisa mines (Engenho and Fernandinho), bothall located in Minas Gerais. Our mining activities provide strong revenue generation, and have significantly increased in the last five years.generation. We sold 10.5 million tons in 2007, 18.5 million tons in 2008, 17.5 million tons in 2009,, 18.6 million tons in 2010, and 23.8 million tons in 2011, (considering20.2 million tons in 2012 and 21.5 million tons in 2013 (taking into account our proportional interest in Namisa throughout this period). The company’s mining assets also include TECARa solid bulks seaport terminal,with a capacity for 3045 mtpy, located in Itaguaí Port (RJ), Mineração Bocaina, located in Arcos (MG), which produces dolomite and limestone and Estanho de Rondônia SA (ERSA),ERSA, which mines and casts tin.

Thoroughly developed transport infrastructure.We have a thoroughly developed transport infrastructure, fromconnecting our iron ore mine to our steel mill and to our ports. Our steelworksThe Presidente Vargas Steelworks facility is located next to railroad systemsrailway and port facilities,systems, facilitating the supply of raw materials, the shipment of our production and easy access to our principal clients. Our steelworks are close to the main steel consumer centers in Brazil, with easy access to port facilities and railway. The concession for the main railroad usedrailway we use and operated by usoperate is owned by MRS, a

Strategies

Our goal is to increase value for our shareholders by further benefiting from our competitive cost advantages, maintaining our position as one of the world’s lowest-cost steel producers, becoming an important iron ore global player, developing our cement business and optimizing our infrastructure assets (including ports, railways and power generating plants). To achieve this goal we developed specific strategies for each of our business segments, as described below.

Steel

The strategy for our steel business involves:

ü A focus on the domestic market, in which we have historically recorded higher profit margins and increased competitiveness, by expanding our market share in flat steelssteel and entering in the Brazilian long steel market;

In addition to investments in TECAR, we will strengthen Sepetiba TECON, our container terminal, in order to accommodate larger ships, increasing its capacity and competitiveness by adding services to develop client loyalty.

In terms of railways, we plan to continue the implementation of our Transnordestina project and explore its logistic potential through terminals and regional cargo, focusing on iron ore, agricultural, gypsum and fuel. We also plan to invest in increasing our efficiency and capacity in the south of Brazil through our interest in MRS.

Cold-Rolled Products

Cold-rolled products include cold-rolled coils and sheets. A cold-rolled product, as defined by Brazilian standards, is a flat cold-rolled steel coil or sheet with thickness ranging from 0.30 millimeters to 3.00 millimeters. Compared to hot-rolled products, cold-rolled products have more uniform thickness and better surface quality and are used in applications such as automotive bodies, home appliances and construction. In addition, cold-rolled

Galvanized Products

Galvanized products are comprised of flat-rolled steel coated on one or both sides with zinc or a zinc-based alloy applied by either a hot-dip or an electrolytic process. We use the hot-dip process, which is approximately 20% less expensive than the electrolytic process. Galvanizing is one of the most effective and low-cost processes used to protect steel against corrosion caused by exposure to water and the atmosphere. Galvanized products are highly versatile and can be used to manufacture a broad range of products, such as:

·        bodies for automobiles, trucks and buses;

·        manufactured products for the construction industry, such as panels for roofing and siding, dry wall and roofing support frames, doors, windows, fences and light structural components;

·        air ducts and parts for hot air, ventilation and cooling systems;

·        culverts, garbage containers and other receptacles;

·        storage tanks, grain bins and agricultural equipment;

·        panels and sign panels; and

·        pre-painted parts.

Galvanized sheets, both painted and bare, are also frequently used for gutters and downspouts, outdoor and indoor cabinets, all kinds of home appliances and similar applications. We produce galvanized sheets and coils in continuous hot-dip processing lines, with thickness ranging from 0.30 millimeters to 3.00 millimeters. The continuous process results in products with highly adherent and uniform zinc coatings capable of being processed in nearly all kinds of bending and heavy machinery.

In addition to standard galvanized products, we produceGalvanew®, galvanized steel that is subject to a special annealing process following the hot-dip coating process. This annealing process causes iron to diffuse from the base steel into the zinc coating. The resulting iron-zinc alloy coating allows better welding and paint performance. The combination of these qualities makes ourGalvanew® product particularly well suited for manufacturing automobile and home appliance parts including high gloss exposed parts.

At CSN Paraná, one of our branches, we produce galvalume, a cold-rolled material coated with a zinc-aluminum alloy. The production process is similar to hot-dip galvanized coating, and galvalume has at least twice the corrosion resistance of standard galvanized steel. Galvalume is primarily used in outdoor construction applications that may be exposed to severe acid corrosion, like marine uses.

The value added from the galvanizing process permits us to price our galvanized products with a higher profit margin. Our management believes that our value-added galvanized products present one of our best opportunities for profitable growth because of the anticipated increase in Brazilian demand for such high margin products.

Through our branch CSN Paraná, we also produce pre-painted flat steel, which is manufactured in a continuous coating line. In this production line, a layer of resin-based paint in a choice of colors is deposited over either cold-rolled or galvanized base materials. Pre-painted material is a higher value-added product used primarily in the construction and home appliance markets.

Tin Mill Products

Tin mill products consist of flat-rolled low-carbon steel coils or sheets with, as defined by Brazilian standards, a maximum thickness of 0.45 millimeters, coated or uncoated. Coatings of tin or chromium are applied by electrolytic process. Coating costs place tin mill products among the highest priced products that we sell. The added value from

·        Tin plate - coated on one or both sides with a thin metallic tin layer plus a chromium oxide layer, covered with a protective oil film;

·        Tin free steel - coated on both sides with a very thin metallic chromium layer plus a chromium oxide layer, covered with a protective oil film;

·        Low tin coated steel - coated on both sides with a thin metallic tin layer plus a thicker chromium oxide layer, covered with a protective oil film; and

·        Black plate - uncoated product used as the starting material for the coated tin mill products.

Tin mill products are primarily used to make cans and other containers. With six electrolytic coating lines, we are one of the biggest producers of tin mill products in the world and the sole producer of coated tin mill products in Brazil.

Production

Production Process

The principalmain raw materials for steelused in flat production in an integrated steelworks are iron ore, coal,ores, coals, coke, and fluxes likesuch as limestone and dolomite. The iron ore consumed at the Presidente Vargas Steelworks is extracted, crushed, classified, screened (treatment process) and transported by railway from our Casa de Pedra mine, located in the city of Congonhas, in the State of Minas Gerais, 328 km away from the Presidente Vargas Steelworks. The high quality ores mined and sized at Casa de Pedra, with iron content of approximately 60%, and theirits low extraction costs are major contributors to our low steel production costs.

We import all the coalhard coking coals required for coke production because Brazil lacksand PCI coals for the blast furnace process, due to the lack of hard coking and PCI coals with the appropriate quality in Brazil. The hard coking coals. The coal iscoals are then charged in coke batteries to produce coke through a distillation process. See “—Raw Materials and Suppliers—Raw Materials and Energy Requirements.” This coal distillation process also produces coke oven gas as a byproduct, which we use as a main source of fuel for our thermoelectric co-generation power plant. After being screened, coke is transported to blast furnaces, where it is used as a combustion source and also as a component for transformingto transform iron ore into pig iron.to hot metal. In 2011,2013, we produced approximately 62%59% of our coke needs and imported the balance. Coke output was 17% lowerbalance, compared to 2010, due to a revamping of the gas systems of two coke batteries.67 % in 2012.

 At sintering plants, fine-sized iron ore and coke breeze or other fine-sized solid fuels are mixed with fluxes (limestone and dolomite) to produce sinter. The sinter, lump iron ore, iron ore pellets, which are 100% acquired in the domestic market, fluxing materials and coke are then loaded into our two operational blast furnaces for smelting. We operate a pulverized coal injection facility, or PCI, facility, which injectsallows to inject low-cost pulverized coalcoals directly into the blast furnaces, as a substitute forreplacing approximately one-third of the total coke otherwise required.demand.

The iron ore isand iron ore pellets are reduced to pig iron through successive chemical reactions with carbon monoxide (from the coke and PCI) inat the blast furnaces, which operate 24 hours a day. The iron and iron ore ispellets are gradually reduced, then melts and flows downward. Impurities are separated from the ironhot metal to form a liquid slag with the loaded fluxes (limestone and dolomite). From time to time, white-hothot metal (white-hot liquid ironiron) and slag are drawn offdrained from the bottom of the furnace. Slag (containing melted impurities) is granulated and is now being used to produce cement.

The molten pig ironhot metal is transported to the steelmaking shop by 350-ton capacity torpedo cars and charged in basic oxygen furnaces together with scrap and fluxes. InAt the basic oxygen furnaces, oxygen is blown onto the liquid burden to oxidize its remaining impurities and to lower its carbon content, thus producing liquid steel. The molten steel is conveyed from the basic oxygen furnaces to the secondary refining equipment (degasser, ladle furnace and Argon Stirring Station). After adjusting the chemical composition, the molten steel is transferred to the continuous casting machines from which crude steel (i.e., rectangular shaped slabs) is produced. A portion of the slab products iscan be sold directly in the export market.

In the hot rolling process, reheated slabs from the continuous casting machines are fed into hot strip mills to reduce the thickness of the slabs from 250 millimeters to a range of between 1.2 and 12.7 millimeters. At the end of the hot strip mill, the long, thin steel strip from each slab is coiled and conveyed to a cooling yard. Some hot-rolled coils are dispatched directly to customers in the as-rolled condition. Others are further processed inat the pickling line,lines, in a hydrochloric bath, to remove surface oxides and improve surface quality.  In 2011, one of the two pickling lines had a 40 day stoppage to allow for the changing of the entire set of pickling tanks. After pickling, the hot-rolled coils selected to produce thinner materials are sent to be rolled inat cold strip mills. CSN has three cold strip mills, one of which was revamped in September 2011, adding 150,000 tons per year to CSN’s cold rolling capacity. The better surface characteristics of cold-rolled products enhance their value to customers when compared to hot-rolled products. Additional processing related to cold-rolling may further improve surface quality. Following cold-rolling, coils may be annealed, coated (by a hot dip or electrolytic tinning process) and painted, to enhance medium-and long-term anti-corrosion performance and also to add characteristics that will broaden the range of steel utilization. Coated steel products have higher profit margins than bare steel products. Of our coated steel products, tin mill and galvanized products are our highest margin products.

Steel plant equipment regularly undergoesundergo scheduled maintenance shutdowns. Typically the rolling mills and coating lines are maintained on a weekly or monthly basis whereas the blast furnaces and other special equipment are scheduled for routine maintenance on a semi-annual or annual basis.

Our business encompasses operationsoperational and commercial activities. Our operations are undertaken by our production sector, which is composed of the following two units:

·        The operationsoperational unit - responsible for steel production operations, repair shops, in-plant railroad,railway, and process development at our Presidente Vargas Steelworks; and

·        The support unit - responsible for production planning, management of product stockyards, energy and utility facilities and work force safety assistance at the Presidente Vargas Steelworks.

The production sector is also responsible for environment and quality consultancy, new product development, capital investment implementation for steel production and processing, and the supervision of CSN Porto Real’s and CSN Paraná’s operations.

Quality Management Program

We practice Total Quality Management, a set of techniques that have been adopted by many leading companies in our industry. We also maintain a Quality Management System that has beenis certified to be in compliance with the ISO 9001 standards set forth by the International Standardization Organization or ISO.  InISO 9001 standard and the automotive industry’s Technical Specification ISO/TS 16949. Our Quality Management System has maintained certification of compliance to ISO 9000 standards since March 1993, when we were awarded the ISO 9002 certificate of compliance for the manufacture of several of our products. Inand in April 1996 when we were awarded the ISO 9001 certificate of compliance which replaced ISO9002 and includedfor the elementmanufacture of “design” in its scope. In April 1998,our steel products. To attend the requirements of the automotive industry we were awarded certification of compliance to QS 9000 standards requirements specific toin April 1998. In June 2004, we made the transition from the QS 9000 standard and were awarded the automotive industry. Over the years the ISO 9001 certificate has been maintained and renewed, with theindustry’s Technical Specification ISO/TS 16949. The most recent renewal to the ISO 9001:2008 version, awarded in August 2011, is for the design and manufacture of slabs, hot rolled flats, pickled and oiled steel products, cold rolled, galvanized steel products and tin mill products. In June 2004,September 2011, we were also awarded the automotive industry’s Technical Specification ISO/TS 16949,16949:2009, third edition, for the design and manufacture of hot-rolled, pickled and oiled, cold-rolled and galvanized steel products. Our intention is to renew these certificates of compliance by August 2014 and include in the scope of the ISO 9001 certificate of compliance the manufacture of rebar, bars and rods that will be produced by our new long products which replaced the QS 9000 standards. The most recent renewal to the ISO/TS 16949:2009, third edition, was awarded in September 2011. Some important automotive companies, like Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford, require their suppliers to satisfy the ISO/TS 16949 standards.plant.

The following table contains some of our operating statistics for the periods indicated.indicated: