The capacity utilization rates of South Korean producers of stainless cold rolled steel sheets slightly increased in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.
According to the statistics from the Stainless Steel Club of the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), South Korean producers of stainless cold rolled steel sheets produced 638,957 mt in the first half of the year, up 4.2 percent from the same period last year. The annual production capacity of the 11 local producers it recently surveyed totaled 1.52 million mt, and their average capability utilization rate stood at 84.1 percent in the first half of this year, an increase of 3.4 percentage points from 80.7 percent in the same period last year.
However, participants in the market say that such an increase in the producers' capacity utilization rates in the first half of the year resulted in an oversupply of the products and in severe price completion for sales in the market.