EXHIBIT 991

                                                   NEWS RELEASE



  AK Steel Signs Letter of Intent to Sell Sawhill Tubular Division


MIDDLETOWN, OH, DECEMBER 18, 2001--AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it had
signed a letter of intent to sell the assets of its Sawhill Tubular Division to
John Maneely Company, Collingswood, New Jersey.  The sale is contingent upon
approval by the boards of directors of both companies as well as regulatory
agency approval. Terms of the proposed sale were not released.

     Sawhill Tubular Division manufactures continuous weld, electric resistance
weld, seamless and mechanical tube and pipe products in diameters up to six
inches.  End uses for the division's tube and pipe products include
construction, manufacturing, transportation, fire suppression and conveyor
systems.

     AK Steel said the Sawhill division, headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania,
currently employs about 775 men and women in plants in Sharon and Wheatland,
Pennsylvania and Warren, Ohio.  AK Steel said the Sawhill division product line
did not fit into its long-range market strategy.

     With headquarters in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel produces flat-rolled
carbon, stainless and electrical steel products for automotive, appliance,
construction and manufacturing markets.  The company has about 11,500 employees
in plants and offices in Middletown, Coshocton, Mansfield, Walbridge, Warren and
Zanesville, Ohio; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and Butler, Sharon and
Wheatland, Pennsylvania.