South Korea: Heavy plates production, sales drop m-o-m in Feb'22

Heavy plates production in South Korea stood at 722,906 tonnes (t) in Feb'22, down 12% compared to 821,918 t in Jan'22. On an annual basis, production went up by 3% as against 704,816 t in Feb'21.

In Jan-Feb'22, production reached 1.54 mnt, an increase of 5% against 1.47 mnt seen in the same period last year.

Heavy plate sales down m-o-m in Feb

South Korea's heavy plate sales aggregated to 737,983 t in Feb'22, down 9% against 812,748 t a month ago. However, the sales volume increased by 5%, y-o-y against 704,515 t in Feb'21.

Domestic sales accounted for 685,763 t of the total sales in Feb'22, up 7%, m-o-m. On y-o-y basis, the same increased by 36% against 504,884 t in Feb'21 on the back of increased demand from the shipbuilding sector.

Meanwhile, exports of the same registered a significant decline of 69% m-o-m and 74% y-o-y to 52,220 t in Feb'22.

In Jan-Feb'22, the total sales volume amounted to 1.55 mnt, up 5% compared to 1.48 mnt in the corresponding period last year.

Outlook

Market participants anticipate a sharp decline in exports and an increase in domestic demand and imports. Domestic demand will be driven primarily by shipbuilding activities. It is highly likely that this trend will continue for the time being, as domestic heavy plate demand is rapidly increasing on the back of healthy orders of containers received by domestic shipbuilders in CY'21.

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