SCHN 2017 Annual Report

1 / Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Form 10-K 2017 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements and information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K by Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (the “Company”) that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except as noted herein or as the context may otherwise require, all references to “we,” “our,” “us,” and “SSI” refer to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include statements regarding future events or our expectations, intentions, beliefs and strategies regarding the future, which may include statements regarding trends, cyclicality and changes in the markets we sell into; the Company's outlook, growth initiatives or expected results or objectives, including pricing, margins, sales volumes and profitability; strategic direction or goals; targets; changes to manufacturing and production processes; the cost of and the status of any agreements or actions related to our compliance with environmental and other laws; expected tax rates, deductions and credits; the realization of deferred tax assets; planned capital expenditures; liquidity positions; ability to generate cash from continuing operations; the potential impact of adopting new accounting pronouncements; obligations under our retirement plans; benefits, savings or additional costs from business realignment, cost containment and productivity improvement programs; and the adequacy of accruals. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as “outlook,” “target,” “aim,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “assumes,” “estimates,” “evaluates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “opinions,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “plans,” “future,” “forward,” “potential,” “probable,” and similar expressions. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. We may make other forward-looking statements from time to time, including in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, presentations and on public conference calls. All forward-looking statements we make are based on information available to us at the time the statements are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Our business is subject to the effects of changes in domestic and global economic conditions and a number of other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in "Item1A. Risk Factors" of Part I of this Form10-K. Examples of these risks include: potential environmental cleanup costs related to the Portland Harbor Superfund site or other locations; the cyclicality and impact of general economic conditions; instability in international markets; volatile supply and demand conditions affecting prices and volumes in the markets for both our products and raw materials we purchase; imbalances in supply and demand conditions in the global steel industry; the impact of goodwill impairment charges; the impact of long-lived asset and cost and equity method investment impairment charges; inability to sustain the benefits from productivity and restructuring initiatives; difficulties associated with acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; customer fulfillment of their contractual obligations; increases in the relative value of the U.S. dollar; the impact of foreign currency fluctuations; potential limitations on our ability to access capital resources and existing credit facilities; restrictions on our business and financial covenants under our bank credit agreement; the impact of consolidation in the steel industry; inability to realize expected benefits from investments in technology; freight rates and the availability of transportation; the impact of equipment upgrades, equipment failures and facility damage on production; product liability claims; the impact of legal proceedings and legal compliance; the adverse impact of climate change; the impact of not realizing deferred tax assets; the impact of tax increases and changes in tax rules; the impact of one or more cybersecurity incidents; environmental compliance costs and potential environmental liabilities; inability to obtain or renew business licenses and permits or renew facility leases; compliance with greenhouse gas emission laws and regulations; reliance on employees subject to collective bargaining agreements; and the impact of the underfunded status of multiemployer plans in which we participate.