NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) intends to award a sole source contract to CRU International Ltd. for Global Steel and Aluminum Monitoring services. The contract will have a base 12-month period and will provide the DOC with access to databases on aluminum smelter-level production, country-level production and capacity, aluminum consumption, utilization rates, and current and historical pricing data. The contract will also provide access to a source of large reports covering data points on both steel and aluminum inputs as well as finished products, pricing and written analysis on current highlights. The DOC requires a resource for a full range of global weekly and monthly steel and aluminum prices, as well as analyses of short-term market developments and a comprehensive market data service for current aluminum price information. • The contract will include access to databases such as Aluminum Premium, Steel Metallics Classic, Steelmaking Raw Materials Classic, and Steel Premium. • The contract will require the vendor to provide weekly analyses of steel and aluminum pricing and comprehensive coverage of global markets on a monthly basis. • The contract will also require the vendor to provide access to analysis, commodity experts, and other crucial information immediately to satisfy tight turnaround deadlines. • The vendor will be required to provide a data service that includes direct access for the user to the data and various means of immediate download or extraction. • The vendor will be required to provide a team with experts on the ground in various global regions, especially China, to firsthand evaluate the statuses of smelters and facilities and trends in local commodity markets.