South Korea: Steel companies' HR plate production, sales decline m-o-m in Nov'22

South Korea's two major steel producers, POSCO and Hyundai Steel, have reported a drop in production and sales of hot-rolled (HR) plates in November 2022. The decline was mainly due to the strike that took place at the Hyundai Steel's Dangjin steel mill's hot-rolling plant.

Production picture

In November, exterior plate production stood at 795,000 tonnes (t), down 2.5% compared to October, and 22% from the same period last year. During the January-November period, production volumes dropped 8% y-o-y to 9.56 million tonnes (mnt).

Sales performance

Sales of HR steel plates stood at 775,000 t in November, down 13% m-o-m and 22% y-o-y. Domestic sales accounted for 435,000 t out of the total sales, down 14% m-o-m and 33% y-o-y. Exports were recorded at 340,000 t, down 12% m-o-m and 3% from the same month a year ago.

During the January-November period, HR plate sales dropped 8% y-o-y to 9.5 mnt compared to the same period last year. Out of the total sale volume, 6.14 mnt was domestic sales, down by 13% y-o-y and exports were 3.43 mnt, up marginally by 0.7%.

Outlook

The production and sales of hot-rolled steel are expected to recover in December 2022 as the strike at Hyundai Steel's Dangjin steel mill has been put on hold and the issue has settled. Moreover, the hot-rolling mill-1 has completed its restoration works and commenced operations in Pohang works of POSCO, followed by an increase in production at the Gwangyang works.

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