California Steel Announces Appointment of New President/CEO and New Chairman of Board of Directors

FONTANA, Calif., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- California Steel Industries, Inc. ("the Company") announced today that Mr. Vicente Wright, the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, has been selected to assume the position of President & Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective July 1, 2008.

Additionally, the Company announced today that the current President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr. Masakazu Kurushima, will be appointed to the Company Board of Directors, also effective July 1, 2008, where he will take the position of Chairman of the Board.

The appointments are in accordance with the policy of periodically rotating senior management positions between representatives of the Company's shareholders, JFE Steel Corporation and Rio Doce Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale).

Mr. Wright currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, a position he has held since July 2004. He is also the Managing Director for the Iron Ore and Pellet Sales - Americas and the Commercial Administration Department of Vale. Mr. Wright was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in February 2003, after serving as its CFO from 1998 to 2003. He has held various executive positions with Vale, as well as serving as a board member of several steel and ferroalloy organizations in Brazil and overseas. He graduated from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

Mr. Kurushima currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a position he has held since July 2004. Prior to his appointment, he served as President of JFE Steel America, Inc. He has served as Staff General Manager of the Export Department of JFE Steel Corporation, Tokyo. He joined Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 1972 after graduating from Waseda University, Japan, with a degree in Economics.

Company Information and Forward Looking Statements

California Steel Industries is the leading producer of flat rolled steel products in the western United States (the 11 states located west of the Rocky Mountains) based on tonnage billed, with a broad range of products, including hot rolled, cold rolled, electric resistant weld pipe and galvanized coil and sheet. Located near Fontana, California, CSI has about 1,000 employees.

This release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future financial results. Actual results may differ materially as a result of factors over which the Company has no control. These risk factors and additional information are included in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.