South Korean steel majors, POSCO and Hyundai steel, reported a decline in production and sales of hot-rolled products for outer plates in April 2022, despite the price hike expected in May.
Production and sales of outer plates
The production of hot-rolled products decreased significantly compared to the previous month due to the facility repairs in April. POSCO and Hyundai Steel have an annual production capacity of 5.1 million tonnes (mnt).
In April, production of outer plates was recorded at 810,000 t, a decline of 14.7% m-o-m and 19% y-o-y.
Outer plate sales totalled 865,000 t in April, down 10.4% m-o-m and 13.5% y-o-y.
Out of total sales, domestic sales accounted for 575,000 t, down 11.5% from the previous month and 13.5% y-o-y. The decline in sales was due to the effect of POSCO’s facility repairs. During mid-April to early-May, major repair work was done at the second HR plant of POSCO Pohang works and the third HR plant at the Gwangyang works.
Exterior plates
Production of exterior plates until April stood at 3.43 mnt, down 8.3% y-o-y. Sales dropped 7% to 3.53 mnt in April.
Domestic sales totalled 2.4 mnt, down by 3.8%, while exports dropped 13.1% to 1.12 mnt in contrast with April 2021.
The production and sales of domestic hot-rolled products for exterior plates slowed down due to facility repairs in February and April, while domestic supply increased by way of further reducing exports.
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.
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