[Willie Green]

The mini's have been profitable, locating their smaller plants closer to sources of scrap and closer to some industries that need specialty steels. Let the big boy handle the low margin coomodity steels and Nucor will continue to sell to smaller customers that need smaller runs.

You got it bass-ackwards. Starting from scratch, the integrated mills have tighter control over specialty alloys. Relying on scrap, the minis generate efficient production of "commodity" alloys through recycling close to their customers.

[ffusco]

I never said Nucor would produce specialty alloys just smaller runs. And I know big steel has been a sick old man for decades and mini's are profitable and expanding. So at least I got that right. In fact recycled steel is probably not used for railroad tracks and girders but washer machines and smaller durable goods.