8-K

                                   FORM 8-K

                                CURRENT REPORT

   Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)       September 23, 1998
                                                      -------------------

                                  HUNTCO INC.
                               -----------------
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


     Missouri                       1-13600                    43-1643751
   ------------                    ----------                 -------------
  (State or other           (Commission File Number)         (IRS Employer
  jurisdiction of                                          Identification No.)
  incorporation)



14323 S. Outer Forty, Suite 600N, Town & Country, Missouri          63017  
- -----------------------------------------------------------         -----
(Address of principal executive offices)                          (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code       (314) 878-0155       
                                                         ---------------

                                Not applicable
              --------------------------------------------------
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)



 2

Item  5.     Other Events

Huntco Inc. (the "Company") issued a news release on September 23, 1998, in 
order to update certain expectations concerning its operations for the balance 
of 1998.  This news release is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99 
attached hereto.


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                                   SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
  
HUNTCO  INC.



By:     /s/ Robert J. Marischen
    ----------------------------------
      Robert J. Marischen,
       Vice Chairman & Chief Financial Officer

Date: September 23, 1998



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                                 EXHIBIT INDEX

     These Exhibits are numbered in accordance with the Exhibit Table of Item 
601 of Regulation S-K:

 Exhibit No.                      Description 
 -----------           ---------------------------------  
 
     99                News release of September 23, 1998
 

EX-99

 1

                                   HUNTCO INC.
                     14323 SOUTH OUTER FORTY - SUITE 600N
                        TOWN & COUNTRY, MISSOURI   63017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HUNTCO LOWERS VOLUME AND MARGIN EXPECTATIONS FOR SECOND HALF OF 1998.  NET 
LOSS EXPECTED FOR THIRD QUARTER.
 
TOWN & COUNTRY, MISSOURI, September 23, 1998. . . . . Huntco Inc. 
(NYSE:"HCO"), an intermediate steel processor, today announced that it expects 
that the volume of tons of steel which it will sell in the second half of 1998 
will decline approximately 20% from the record volume of tons of steel which 
it sold in the first half of 1998 and that it will report a Net Loss per 
common share of approximately $.15 for the third quarter.

The reduction in volume expectations reflects lower shipping rates primarily 
at the Company's Blytheville, Arkansas facility where the Company has seen a 
slow-down in its tolling volume, as well as lower sales levels for processed 
hot rolled steel products and cold rolled master coil sales. Tons shipped from 
Huntco's facility in Blytheville, Arkansas generally represent up to 50% of 
the Company's total shipments.

The reduced level of tolling volume reflects a move to off-shore purchasing by 
certain of the Company's tolling customers who traditionally buy from the 
Nucor mill at Hickman, Arkansas and use Huntco's Blytheville facility for toll 
slitting and pickling.  

Sharply lower shipping levels of processed hot rolled products and cold rolled 
master coils were experienced at Huntco's Blytheville facility during the 
month of August, 1998 and continuing into early September as the Company 
installed new computer systems at this facility.  Blytheville is the last of 
the Company's facilities to be converted to the new computer system.  

Also negatively impacting volume levels was the continuing rapid deterioration 
in steel prices which is encouraging inventory liquidations and delays in 
purchases by the Company's customers.  This was especially acute in the 
markets served by Huntco's Blytheville facility, reflecting the substantial 
disparity between hot rolled steel prices charged by local, domestic suppliers 
and the landed cost of imported hot bands.  

Despite the rapid declines in steel prices, gross margin spreads, measured 
against material costs, have been improving since mid-summer, but these 
improvements are currently being offset by the lower shipping and production 
volumes which negatively impact fixed cost absorption and which are expected 
to result in somewhat lower net margin percentages for the second half of 
1998, when compared to the first half of 1998. 

The combination of these factors is expected to result in the Company 
reporting a Net Loss for its third quarter of approximately $.15 per common 
share, with some improvement from third quarter levels expected in the fourth 
quarter.

Shipping rates at the Company's Blytheville facility are beginning to recover 
as the turmoil caused by the systems conversion lessens and the Company has 
begun to see the return of its tolling business subsequent to recent domestic 
price reductions.  These trends are expected to continue through the fourth 
quarter and into 1999.  Further, the Company has secured feed stock supply for 
its cold mill for much of 1999 at prices which it anticipates will allow it to 
operate the cold mill at more adequate levels of profitability.  Delays in the 
receipt of the early shipments of this feed stock have stalled progress at the 
cold mill during much of the third quarter, but improvement late in the 
quarter has begun to be realized.  In addition, recent improvements to the 
cold mill have positioned the Company to participate in markets which have 
been less price sensitive than the markets which have been served by Huntco's 
cold mill since its opening in 1995.  The Company is currently conducting 
trials with customers and expects that these new markets could represent a 
meaningful portion of the Company's cold rolled sales in 1999.  The Company is 
also taking aggressive steps to lower its operating expenses, which the 
Company anticipates will become more apparent once the steep slide in steel 
prices bottoms out.  The Company is cautiously optimistic about the business 
environment which it sees developing for 1999 and anticipates a return to 
profitability in the near future. 

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking and 
involve risks and uncertainties.  Words such as "expects," "believes," 
"could," and "anticipates," and variations of such words and similar 
expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.  These 
statements are based on current expectations and projections concerning the 
Company's plans for 1998 and about the steel processing industry in general, 
as well as assumptions made by Company management and are not guarantees of 
future performance.  Therefore, actual events, outcomes, and results may 
differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking 
statements.  The Company encourages those who make use of this forward -
looking data to make reference to a complete discussion of the factors which 
may cause the forward-looking data to differ materially from actual results, 
which discussion is contained in the Company's Transitional Annual Report and 
in Form 10-K, both for the eight month transition period ended December 31, 
1997.

Huntco Inc. is a major, intermediate steel processor, specializing in the 
processing of flat rolled carbon steel.