The ongoing strike by workers at South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel that has halted hot strip mill operations at the Dangjin Works for over a month has prompted the firm to consider exporting slabs, according to Korean media on Wednesday.
The strike, which began in late September over numerous labour union demands including that 15% of the company’s operating profit in 2021 be paid as a performance-based bonus, has seen operations at selected areas of the works on Korea’s west coast halted in what the union calls “guerrilla” tactics, Mysteel Global noted.
Consequently, while the works’ three 4-million tonnes/year blast furnaces and associated steel making shops continue to operate, the strike is preventing the company from feeding the resultant slabs through the works’ hot-rolling facilities, according to business news portal, Business Korea. An inventory build-up is prompting the company to consider exporting some slabs, it said.
“If Hyundai Steel goes ahead with the export of semi-finished products such as slabs, this will create significant implications for the Korean steel industry,” Business Korea noted. “The steelmaker produces products mainly for automobiles and ships (so) if it exports semi-finished products for this purpose, the amount of steel products to be supplied to the Korean industry can drop,” it warned.
Hyundai Steel has made no official comment, but Korean sources note that should the slabs sail abroad, it could be the start of a revival in Korean slab exports.
Korean trade data show that during January-August this year, Korea exported only about 80,800 tonnes of slabs, down 60% on year. The Dangjin works can produce slabs up to 250mm thick and 800 to 1,650 mm wide.
Written by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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