South Korea's heavy plates' output, sales down marginally in Jan-Nov'21

South Korean mills witnessed a slight y-o-y decrease in production and sales of heavy plates in Jan-Nov'21 compared to the same period last year, majorly because of lower exports, a SteelDaily report reveals.

However, on the other hand, downstream demand especially from the shipbuilding sector saw a rise in this period.

Production

Heavy plates production stood at 8.11 million tonnes (mn t) in Jan-Nov'21, down marginally by 1% against 8.22 mn t in the same period last year.

In Nov'21, production volumes totalled 0.81 mn t, an increase of 20% m-o-m and 14% y-o-y.

Sales

Korean mills sold 8.17 mn t of plates in Jan-Nov'21, down 1% against 8.23 mn t seen in Jan-Nov'20, of which domestic sales accounted for 6.33 mn t (up 8% y-o-y) and exports for 1.84 mn t (down 23% y-o-y).

In Nov'21, total sales volume jumped 10% to 0.79 mn t in comparison with 0.72 mn t in Oct'21. On an annual basis, sales volume rose 7% against 0.74 mn t in Nov'20.

Domestic sales and exports stood at 0.66 mn t and 0.12 mn t respectively, in Nov'21.