South Korea: Heavy plate exports rise 22% m-o-m in August

South Korea's heavy plate exports jumped 22% to 150,570 tonnes (t) in August, 2022 in comparison with 123,029 t a month ago. Similarly, on an annualised basis, the same rose 25% against 120,924 t in August, 2021.

During the first eight months (January-August) of the current calendar year, heavy plate exports increased 14% to 1.01 million tonnes (mnt) compared to 0.88 mnt in January-August, 2021.

Exports have expanded due to increased domestic imports and delayed recovery in demand from downstream industries, except for shipbuilding.

Imports

In August, heavy plate imports dropped 22% to 145,649 t from 186,722 t a month ago. However, on y-o-y basis, imports rose 32% against 110,058 t in August, 2021.

During the January-August period, imports registered a whopping rise of 111% to 1.20 mnt compared to 0.57 mnt in January-August, 2021.

The increase in imports is due to cheaper availability of imported material compared to domestic.

Outlook

It is likely that exports will drop in the near term due to the damage at POSCO's heavy steel mill. Meanwhile, imports are expected to increase.

According to sources, POSCO's thick plate mill is expected to return to normal operations by October along with production expansion. Thus, supply will not be a concern, but increased inflow of low-priced imports into Korea might continue for the time being.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.