Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. is instituting an energy surcharge effective with shipments on October 1, 2005.

The company says the surcharge, which only covers natural gas at this time, is necessitated by the unprecedented rise in natural gas prices.

Dudley J. Merchant, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, commented, "We are taking this step in the face of highly volatile energy markets. The addition of this surcharge will assist us in continuing to deliver on our commitment to reinvest in our specialty steel operations and lower our manufacturing costs to more effectively serve our customers."

Universal Stainless will publish the surcharge amount monthly on a per pound basis. The company will calculate the surcharge on a per ton basis using the monthly closing settlement price of the NYMEX Natural Gas Contract, as reported in Platts Gas Daily. A trigger price of $6.60 per MCF of natural gas and a multiplier of 5.5 will be used to determine the surcharge.

Headquartered in Bridgeville, Pa., Universal Stainless & Alloy Products manufactures and markets a broad line of semi-finished and finished specialty steels, including stainless steel, tool steel, and certain other alloyed steels. The company's products are sold to original equipment manufacturers, service centers, forgers, rerollers, and wire redrawers.