Taiwan CSC's carbon steel sales fall 9.8% on year in 2023

The total volume of carbon steel items sold by China Steel Corp (CSC), Taiwan's top integrated steel producer, during 2023 reached 7.75 million tonnes, lower by 840,256 tonnes or 9.8% from the previous year, according to the company's latest release on its website.

The on-year fall in CSC's carbon steel sales reflected the weak demand from local and overseas buyers during the year, impacted by the slow rise in the global economy and the persistent global inflation, the company said.

During December alone, the steel giant's carbon steel sales were reported at 610,273 tonnes, slipping by 54,327 tonnes or 8.2% on month, the release showed.

The drop in steel sales and the decrease in its sales prices meant that CSC's pre-tax profits for December declined by TWD 88.6 million ($2.85 million) or 9% on month to TWD 924 million. For full-year 2023, the company's total pre-tax profits reached TWD 4.6 billion, slumping by TWD 18.7 billion or 80% on year, according to the company release.

Despite its poor performance last year, the company is still optimistic about the steel market this year as it expects the world economy to gradually recover and inflation ease.

Global steel demand is expected to improve with the better performance of global auto output and sales, the mill noted. J.D. Power, a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and analytics, has predicted that total automobile output worldwide may increase by 4% on year this year to 90.2 million units, as reported.

Steel prices in overseas markets have shown some signs of bottoming out, which may help struggling steelmakers improve their business performances. For example, prices of hot-rolled coil in the United States have been increasing continuously since last October with the total rise to date reaching about $500/t, CSC noted.

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