The company said its US$2.3 billion in net sales yielded net income of US$100 million, or 47 cents per diluted share. Although sales and profits were down from the same quarter in 2019, the result was nevertheless solid, especially considering the continued challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said. 

"The domestic economy is recovering from the shock of COVID-19 although it is still difficult to know the full extent of its eventual impact. However, we are currently seeing a solid recovery in domestic steel demand," said chief executive Mark Millett. "The automotive sector has seen the strongest improvement, and the construction sector has remained resilient. We are seeing pent-up demand, as steel service center inventories were extremely low and still remain low compared to historical norms,” he said. “Energy remains the weakest end market,” he added. 

The company said shipments rose 6.5% on a sequential quarter basis, increasing to 2.68 million tons. 

“Our steel mills operated at 85% of their production capability during the third quarter of 2020, with the flat roll group achieving a rate of 99%. This contrasts to the domestic steel industry rate of 64%. Our continued market share gains, coupled with support from our fabrication and steel processing businesses, reinforced our higher operating rates,” Millett said.