Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

14.  Commitments and Contingencies:

Operating Leases

The Company leases certain warehouses, sales offices, machinery and equipment and vehicles under long-term operating lease agreements.  The leases expire at various dates through 2018.  In some cases the leases include options to extend.  Rent and lease expense was $7,724, $6,510 and $4,495 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

The future annual minimum lease payments as of December 31, 2012 are as follows:

	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		Thereafter		Total
Lease payments	$	4,744	$	3,764	$	2,695	$	2,421	$	1,960	$	2,882	$	18,466

Capital Leases

The Company leases a warehouse in Streetsboro, Ohio under a capital lease agreement.  The Company has signed a purchase agreement to purchase the facility at the end of the lease for $1,325.  The capital lease obligation is included in “Current portion of short-term debt” on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet.

The capital lease obligation as of December 31, 2012 is as follows:

Total capital lease obligation	$	1,408
Less: interest		(1	)
Capital lease obligation		1,407
Less: current		(1,407	)
Long term capital lease	$	-

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is party to various legal actions that it believes are ordinary in nature and incidental to the operation of its business.  In the opinion of management, the outcome of the proceedings to which the Company is currently a party will not have a material adverse effect upon its results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

In the normal course of business, the Company periodically enters into agreements that incorporate indemnification provisions.  While the maximum amount to which the Company may be exposed under such agreements cannot be estimated, it is the opinion of management that these indemnifications are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.

In October 2011, MF Global UK Limited (MF Global UK), a United Kingdom based broker-dealer, was placed into the United Kingdom’s administration process (a process similar to bankruptcy proceedings in the United States) by the Financial Services Authority following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of its U.S. parent, MF Global Holdings Ltd.  The Company had used MF Global UK as one of its third-party brokers for nickel swaps.  All of the Company’s open hedges with MF Global UK were closed effective November 1, 2011, and the Company does not believe it has a material obligation to MF Global UK as of December 31, 2012.  However, bankruptcy and administration processes are uncertain and the results could change and the Company’s financial statements may be materially impacted in the future.

At December 31, 2012, approximately 335 of the hourly plant personnel are represented by nine separate collective bargaining units.  The table below shows the expiration dates of the collective bargaining agreements.

Facility	Expiration date
St. Paul, Minnesota	May 25, 2013
Milan, Illinois	August 12, 2013
Duluth, Minnesota	December 21, 2014
Locust, North Carolina	March 4, 2015
Romeoville, Illinois	May 31, 2015
Minneapolis coil, Minnesota	September 30, 2015
Indianapolis, Indiana	January 29, 2016
Minneapolis plate, Minnesota	March 31, 2017
Detroit, Michigan	August 31, 2017