INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

Exhibit 10.1

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

This Indemnification Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made as of [            ] by and between Ryerson Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and [            ] (“Indemnitee”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve publicly held corporations as directors, officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) has determined that, in order to attract and retain qualified individuals, the Company will attempt to maintain on an ongoing basis, at its sole expense, liability insurance to protect persons serving the Company and its subsidiaries from certain liabilities. Although the furnishing of such insurance has been a customary and widespread practice among United States-based corporations and other business enterprises, the Company believes that, given current market conditions and trends, such insurance may be available to it in the future only at higher premiums and with more exclusions. At the same time, directors, officers, and other persons in service to corporations or business enterprises are being increasingly subjected to expensive and time-consuming litigation relating to, among other things, matters that traditionally would have been brought only against the corporation or business enterprise itself. The By-laws of the Company require indemnification of the officers and directors of the Company. Indemnitee may also be entitled to indemnification pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”). The By-laws and the DGCL expressly provide that the indemnification provisions set forth therein are not exclusive, and thereby contemplate that contracts may be entered into between the Company and members of the board of directors, officers and other persons with respect to indemnification;

WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons;

WHEREAS, the Board has determined that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future;

WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that they will not be so indemnified;

WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the By-laws of the Company and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto, and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder;

WHEREAS, Indemnitee does not regard the protection available under the Company’s By-laws and insurance as adequate in the present circumstances, and may not be willing to serve as an officer or director without adequate protection, and the Company desires Indemnitee to serve in such capacity. Indemnitee is willing to serve, continue to serve and to take on additional service for or on behalf of the Company on the condition that he be so indemnified; and

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of the Indemnitee continuing to serve the Company as an officer and/or director, the Company and Indemnitee do hereby covenant and agree as follows:

Section 1. Definitions

In addition to terms defined elsewhere herein, the following terms have the following meanings when used in this Agreement:

(i) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), other than (w) the Company, (x) a trustee or other fiduciary holding voting securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, (y) an underwriter temporarily holding voting securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, or (z) a corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the security holders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of voting securities of the Company, is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d 3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of voting securities of the Company (not including in the voting securities beneficially owned by such person any voting securities acquired directly from the Company or its affiliates) representing 20% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities;

(ii) during any period of two consecutive years (not including any period prior to the execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board and any new director whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s security holders was approved by a vote of at least two thirds (2/3) of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved (collectively, “Continuing Directors”), cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof; provided, however, that any director who assumes office in connection with an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in clauses (i), (iii) or (iv) of this Section 1(a) or any new director who assumes office in connection with or as a result of an actual or threatened proxy or other election contest of the Board shall never be (at any time) a Continuing Director for purposes of this Section 1(a)(ii), and the nomination or election of such person shall never constitute, or be deemed to constitute, an approval by the Continuing Directors for purposes of this Section 1(a)(ii);

(iii) there occurs a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent

- 2 -

(either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or the direct or indirect parent thereof), in combination with the ownership of any trustee or other fiduciary holding voting securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, at least 60% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity or the direct or indirect parent thereof outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation, or a merger or consolidation effected to implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no person acquires more than 40% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities;

(iv) the holders of voting securities of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets; or

(v) there occurs any other event that the Board of Directors deems to be a change in control of the Company.

(b) “Indemnifiable Amounts” means any and all Indemnifiable Expenses, damages, judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes and amounts paid in settlement (including all interest, assessments and other charges paid or payable in connection with or in respect of such Indemnifiable Expenses, judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes or amounts paid in settlement) arising out of or resulting from any Proceeding.

(c) “Indemnifiable Expenses” means all expenses, costs and liabilities paid or incurred in connection with investigating, defending, being a witness or participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to investigate, defend, be a witness in or participate in, any Proceeding, including, without limitation, counsel fees and disbursements, experts’ fees, investigators’ fees, court costs, retainers, transcript fees and duplicating costs, witness fees, travel expenses, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees, cost bonds, supersedes bonds, or other appeal bond or its equivalent.

(d) “Proceeding” means any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought in the right of the Company or otherwise and whether of a civil, criminal, administrative or investigative nature, in which Indemnitee was, is or will be involved as a party or a witness or otherwise by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, by reason of any action taken by him or her or of any action on his or her part while acting as director or officer of the Company, or by reason of the fact that he is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, in each case whether or not serving in such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, prior to a Change in Control, Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification or advancement under this Agreement in connection with any Proceeding initiated by Indemnitee unless (i) the Company has joined in or Company’s Board of Directors has authorized or consented to the initiation of such Proceeding or (ii) the Proceeding is one to enforce or defend Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement. After a Change in Control, Indemnitiee shall be so entitled.

- 3 -

Section 2. Indemnification

In the event that the Indemnitee was, is or becomes subject to, a party to or witness or other participant in, or is threatened to be made subject to, a party to or witness or other participant in, any Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law in effect on the date hereof and as amended from time to time; pro