According to local media reports, South Korean steel producer POSCO has decided to suspend the operations of its wire rod mill No. 1 at Pohang after 45 years.
A POSCO official stated that the company's decision aims to alleviate the global oversupply problem, as evidenced by increasing wire rod supply to South Korea from overseas, which brings down the wire rod prices in the country and results in the shrinking of South Korean producers’ profitability. China, with a production capacity of 140 million mt, continues exporting wire rods at low prices to neighboring countries due to its sluggish domestic construction market.
Production besides wire rod such as nails, screws and high-strength tire reinforcements will be transferred to the wire rod mills remaining in operation.
Wire rod mill No. 1 is POSCO’s oldest mill, with the start of its operations dating back to 1979, while it has produced 28 million mt of wire rod during its lifecycle. POSCO had also idled its steel mill No. 1 in July this year.