Key Banc Capital Markets Conference September 11, 2008

2 Building on a Position of Strength Technological Innovation Our Culture and Team Diversified Product Mix Market Leadership Financial Strength Growth Strategy Favorable Industry Dynamics Nucor’s Best Years are Ahead of Us!

3 NUCOR’S FOCUS: PROFITABLE GROWTH NUCOR’S 4 PRONGED GROWTH STRATEGY 1. OPTIMIZE EXISTING OPERATIONS 2. GREENFIELD GROWTH –New Technologies –Marketplace Niches 3. INTERNATIONAL GROWTH through JOINT VENTURES 4. PURSUE STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS Nucor Executes from a Position of Strength

4 Steel Shipments (millions of tons) 10% CAGR

5 Net Sales (millions of dollars) 20% CAGR

6 Net Income (millions of dollars) 25% CAGR

7 First Half Net Income: (millions of dollars)

Return On Equity (%)

9 Nucor’s POSITION OF STRENGTH To GROW SHAREHOLDER VALUE Our CULTURE FINANCIAL STRENGTH DIVERSIFIED PRODUCT Mix Market LEADERSHIP TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION Highly VARIABLE COST Structure

10 It Starts With Our Culture COMMITMENT TO EMPLOYEES SAFETY FIRST!!! NO LAYOFF PRACTICE TEAMWORK PAY FOR PERFORMANCE CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT DECENTRALIZED STRUCTURE Nucor has been PROFITABLE EVERY YEAR AND EVERY QUARTER SINCE 1966 Nucor’s Employees Take Ownership Of Taking Care Of Our Customers & Shareholders!!!

11 Cash Provided By Operations was $1.9 Billion in 2007 Over past four years ( ), Nucor has generated cash from operations exceeding $7 Billion Q balance sheet: Debt of $3.3 billion (= 28% Of Total Capital) and Cash of $2.8 billion Debt Rated “A+” By S&P And “A1” By Moody’s – Highest North American Metals/Mining Debt Ratings Simple Capital Structure – and no off-balance sheet financing arrangements Superior Financial Flexibility – very successful capital raising work in Q (equity of $2 billion and debt of $1 billion) Financial Strength

12 Diversified Product Mix First Half 2008 Sales Tons

13 Market Leadership in North America Position Largest Structural Producer Largest Bar Producer Largest Rebar Producer Largest Cold Finished Bar Producer Largest Steel Joist Producer Largest Steel Deck Producer Largest Rebar Fabrication, Distribution, & Placement Company 2 nd Largest Plate Producer 3 rd Largest Sheet Producer 3 rd Largest Metal Buildings Producer

14 Technological Innovation First to commercialize thin-slab casting Near net shape beam blank casting of wide-flange beams (structural steel) Focus on new disruptive and leapfrog technologies continues!!! Castrip ® – direct strip casting of carbon sheet steel HIsmelt ® – converts iron ore to liquid metal or pig iron; both a blast furnace replacement technology and a hot metal source for electric arc furnaces

15 Variable Cost Structure Nucor Steel Mill Metal Margins

16 NUCOR’S FOCUS: PROFITABLE GROWTH MULTIPLE GROWTH PLATFORMS 1. CORE BUSINESS 2. UPSTREAM – David J. Joseph scrap business 3. UPSTREAM – Nucor Steel Louisiana pig iron project 4. DOWNSTREAM – Harris Steel rebar fabrication 5. INTERNATIONAL – Nucor Europe 6. INTERNATIONAL – Nucor Mexico 7. TECHNOLOGY – Castrip® Nucor’s Multi- Pronged Growth Strategy

17 Growth Strategy – Pursue Strategic Acquisitions (1) Cash expenditures for acquisitions is net of cash acquired. Acquisitions 2000 to 1 st Half 2008 (Cash Expenditures) (1) Q Acquisitions: Duferdofin-Nucor S.r.l.($658 million); Ambassador Steel ($185 million); Victoria Recycling; American Compressed Steel (5 acquisitions) (9 acquisitions) (2 acquisitions) (1 acquisition) (2 acquisitions) Nucor is an experienced and highly successful acquiror / integrator. $0 $122 $653 $35 $170 $155 $224 $1,543 $1,591 $0$200$400$600$800$1,000$1,200$1,400$1,600$1, st Half 2008 ($ in millions)

18 Raw Materials Capacity Growth (tons in millions) Steel Mill Capacity Growth (tons in millions) Steel Products Capacity Growth (tons in millions) Growth Strategy – Capacity Growth

19 Growth Platform – Core Business Memphis SBQ Mill Decatur Galvanizing Facility Sheet Mill Group’s Growing Value-Added Product Portfolio (interstitial-free steels, dual-phase steels, complex-phase steels) North Carolina Plate Mill Heat Treating Facility Arizona Rolling Mill For Straight-Length Rebar, Coiled Rebar, & Coiled Wire Rod

20 Growth Platform – Rebar Fabrication Harris “RPG” Reinforcing Steel Fabrication Plants  23 Canadian Facilities  23 U.S. Facilities Rebar: Mills & Fab. Facilities Nucor Rebar Producing Mills  10 U.S. Facilities Ambassador Steel  21 U.S. Facilities Hawaii

21 61 Scrap Processing Facilities Growth Platform – Scrap

22 Why Upstream & Downstream Growth? Nucor has been profitably pursuing vertical integration opportunities for 4 decades. Each Nucor division (upstream, steelmaking, downstream) run and held accountable as a profit center Importance of gaining greater control over key raw materials in today’s tighter and consolidating raw materials markets See inherently higher (than historical) profits / returns in raw materials markets moving ahead Both upstream and downstream assets enhance earnings power of steelmaking operations Nucor’s downstream assets have historically provided returns equal to (or better) than our core steelmaking operations Vertical integration increases Nucor’s profit opportunities without adding steelmaking capacity Downstream products less vulnerable to competition from imports

23 Growth Platform – International Duferdofin-Nucor beams & long products joint venture San Giovanni San Zeno Pallanzeno Italy Sicily Giammoro

24 Growth Platform – International Sidenor long products & plate joint venture

25 International Growth through JVs North Africa Middle East Greater Europe Distribution of long steel products from Sidenor to the Balkans, Turkey, Cyprus and North Africa and beams from Duferco to Europe and North Africa North America Novosteel

26 Growth Platform – Castrip® (ladle through hot band) Castrip® Energy & Emissions Comparison (ladle through hot band) GGE (t CO2 equiv/t) Energy Consumed (GJ/t)

27 Growth Platform – Pig Iron Production Proposed Nucor Steel Louisiana state-of-the-art iron- making facility project would represent next major step in our raw material strategy Phase I – $2.0 billion in capital expenditures to construct a blast furnace capable of producing 3.0 million tons of pig iron for use in existing mills. Phase II, if built, would invest an additional $1.0 billion for a second 3.0 million ton blast furnace Advanced heat recovery technology will capture waste heat and use it to produce power. By second phase of project, facility would be producing 500 MW of power – with 250 MW supplied to the grid. Nucor’s blast furnaces will have latest designs for emissions controls & energy efficiency. Sites outside the U.S. are also under active consideration

28 Improved Global Steel Industry Outlook World Apparent Steel Demand in Million Tonnes CAGR ‘95 – ‘09F = 5.4% Post World War II reconstruction and Japanese industrialization Post oil crisis slow down BRIC cycle CAGR ‘50 – ‘73 = 5.6% CAGR ‘73 – ‘95 = (0.4)% Source: Historical world apparent steel demand chart from IISI.

29 Nucor’s Success Nucor’s facilities Nucor’s capabilities Nucor’s financial strength Nucor’s strategies And, the single most important asset behind Nucor’s success – Nucor’s EMPLOYEES – THE RIGHT PEOPLE!!! NUCOR’S BEST YEARS ARE STILL AHEAD OF US!!!

30 “If, during the bad times, we had failed to look past the short-term consideration of this quarter’s earnings, would we have gone on to compile such a record of sustained growth and profitability? I’m certain we would not.” “If management had thought of our employees as nothing but “headcount” — a term that seems far more appropriate to cattle than to people would they be as motivated and productive as they are today? Again, the answer is clearly no.”

31 Building on a Position of Strength Technological Innovation Our Culture and Team Diversified Product Mix Market Leadership Financial Strength Growth Strategy Favorable Industry Dynamics Nucor’s Best Years are Ahead of Us!

32 Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this presentation are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s best judgment based on current information, and although we base these statements on circumstances that we believed to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the results and expectations discussed herein. Factors that might cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing steel prices and the changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including scrap steel; (2) availability and cost of electricity and natural gas; (3) market demand for steel products; (4) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (5) uncertainties surrounding the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel production; (6) U.S. and foreign trade policy affecting steel imports or exports; (7) significant changes in government regulations affecting environmental compliance; (8) the cyclical nature of the domestic steel industry; (9) capital investments and their impact on our performance; and (10) our safety performance. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in Nucor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.