This volume is a collection of papers presented at the International Symposium held in Montreal August 1988 as part of the 27th Annual Conference of Metallurgists, co-sponsored by the Canadian Steel Industry Research Association, the Canadian Continuous Steel Casting Research Group and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Four topic areas are covered in the presentations: (1) casting practice and billet quality for direct rolling and hot charging; (2) temperature equalization methods and equipment; (3) surface quality and sensors and (4) mechanical handling of billets for direct rolling and charging.