POSCO to produce 3.16 million mt of stainless steel products in 2011

South Korean steel producer POSCO is continuously increasing its production of stainless steel products, and is also accelerating the expansion of its presence in the overseas markets for these products, according to Korean steel industry sources.
 
POSCO, which produced 2.9 million mt of stainless steel products last year, is expected to increase its annual stainless steel production this year to 3.16 million mt including output from Zhangjigang POSCO Stainless Steel in China, in order to meet growing demand for products from the automobile and electric home appliance sectors at home and abroad, said Suh Young-se, senior director at POSCO's marketing department for stainless steel, adding that the company is planning to continuously expand in overseas markets, including China and India.
 
Mr. Suh explained that European stainless steel producers are suffering difficulties in operations due to their excessively expanded facilities, high production costs and low selling prices for their products, stating that POSCO is the sole stainless steel maker in the world that can maintain full operation of its production facilities and secure profits at present in the stainless steel business despite the recent deterioration of the global business environment.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Suh forecast that global output of stainless steel products will reach 33 million mt this year, up 6.5 percent from a year ago.
 
As for the outlook for the stainless steel product market in 2012, the POSCO official predicted that domestic market conditions will be unfavorable due to the slump in the global economy, but added that there will be robust demand for stainless steel products in overseas markets, particularly in China, India and in countries in Southeast Asia.