According to a report by the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA), local distributors of flat products registered an inventory of 1.26 million mt in November, down 2.5 percent compared to the previous month. Their flat products inventory was 1,039,000 mt in January and then continued to be on the steady rise thereafter but dropped last month for the first time in ten months.
By item, their inventory of cold-rolled steel sheets posted the highest decrease rate of 10.5 percent to 255,000 mt among major flat products in November compared to 285,000 mt in the previous month, followed by pre-pained steel sheets, hot-dipped galvanized steel sheets and pickled and oiled steel sheets.
As the major reasons for such a drop in the inventory of flat products last month in the domestic market, the KOSA cited the steelmakers' reduced supply of the products to automakers, distributors' year-end inventory adjustment, a drop in the steelmakers' production caused by their facility repair works and a steep fall in imports caused by the weak demand for the products in the market.
However, distributors' inventory of cold-rolled coils and electrolytic galvanized steel sheets increased 5.8 percent and 5.6 percent respectively, in November compared to the previous month, forming a contrast to other items of flat products in stock.