SteelDaily: This week, the combined ferrous scrap inventory of eight major South Korean steel mills reached 809,000 tonnes (t), marking a slight decline of 1% from the previous week’s 815,000 t.
The steel scrap inventory has been fluctuating weekly since mid-May. This week inventory has decreased by large amount due to reduced production.
Meanwhile, the inventory level decreased in both the region but the overall decrease was smaller in southern region in comparison with central region.
Region-wise inventory
Central region: Steel makers’ scrap inventory levels decreased by 5.9% reaching 411,000 t as compared to last week in the central region. Hyundai Steel’s Incheon plant maintained similar inventory levels as compared to the last week, while Dangjin plant decreased its inventory by 7.1% because of the lowest production. Hyundai Steel’s rebar plants, had the highest operating rate due to a recently strengthened reduction policy.
Additionally, Dongkuk Steel’s inventory decreased by 11% from the previous week. The inventory levels indicated that changes in stock received and production volume greatly impacted inventory fluctuations compared to the average year changes. On the other hand, Hwan-Hwan Steel’s ferrous scrap inventory decreased by 25% as compared to the previous week due to planned maintenance from 22 July, 2024 to 15 August, 2024.
Southern region: In the southern region, scrap inventories were assessed at 334,000 t, marking a slight decrease of 0.8% w-o-w. By company, POSCO, saw a significant decrease of 6.7% compared to last week. Meanwhile, Pohang Iron and Steel increased its usage after renovation of the No. 4 blast furnace.
The combined inventory of Daehan Steel and YK Steel has decreased by 4.8% and Korea Iron and Steel also decreased by 2.6% compared to the previous week.
On the other hand, Hyundai Steel Pohang saw a 10% increase in inventory compared to the last week, likely due to the low utilisation of the section steel line, which was shut down in earnest, with rebar production concentrated in the low-cost Dangjin Plant.
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and BigMint.
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