South Korea: Ferrous scrap inventory hits 2-year low
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SteelDaily: This week, the combined ferrous scrap inventory of eight major South Korean steel mills touched 659,000 tonnes (t) lowest amount in two years since September 2022, marking a fall of 4.4% from 690,000 t seen before the Chuseok holidays. Notably, domestic steelmakers experienced the largest decrease in their ferrous scrap inventory in a month after the Chuseok holiday due to not receiving deliveries during the holiday and several factories undergoing maintenance.
The southern region had experienced a more significant decline than the central region.
Region-wise inventory
Central region: In the central region, scrap inventory inched up by 1.8% w-o-w to 331,000 t.
In terms of companies, Hyundai Steel's Incheon plant experienced an slight 1% increase in inventory levels compared to the previous week. Meanwhile, the Dangjin plant experienced a substantial 14.3% w-o-w increase in inventory levels while Dongkuk Steel saw a drop of 4.5% w-o-w and Hwanyoung Steel remained stable w-o-w in inventory levels.
Southern region: In the southern region, inventory levels were assessed at 328,000 t, significantly down by 10.1% compared to the last week. Hyundai Steel's Pohang plant witnessed an increase of 5.8% in inventory levels due to some volume being spread out because of long-term maintenance at the Dangjin plant, while POSCO's scrap inventory dropped by 18% w-o-w.
The combined inventories of Daehan Steel and YK Steel fell by 18% w-o-w. On the other hand, Korea Iron and Steel's inventory dropped by 10.7% from the previous week.
Currently, the total ferrous scrap inventories had dropped to their lowest level in two years, though there was no sign of a shortage in the steel industry. The biggest reasons for this included sluggish market conditions, as the product market in September had been very weak and considered the worst year.
Additionally, industry insiders said that it was difficult to significantly increase production, and there was no situation where the low ferrous scrap inventory was causing problems for the industry.