In the first half of this year, nine major South Korean makers of pre-painted steel sheets sold a total of 1,107,400 mt of their products, up 3.1 percent from the same period last year, posting 666,800 mt in the domestic market and 1,107,400 mt in the overseas market, according to a recent survey by the Korea Metal Journal.
Union Steel marked the largest sales volume of 315,900 mt in the January-June period, up 7.9 percent from a year ago - 171,400 mt at home and 144,500 mt abroad.
Dongbu Steel enjoyed a year-on-year rise of 9.8 percent to 240,400 mt in the first half sales of its pre-painted steel sheets, recording 129,100 mt in the domestic market and 111,300 mt in the overseas market. Hyundai Hysco sold 69,900 mt at home and 67,500 mt abroad, thus marking a total of 137,400 mt of its first-half sales, a rise of 6.8 percent from the identical period last year.
In contrast, POSCO C&C saw its pre-painted steel sheet sales decline 9.1 percent from a year ago in the January-June period of this year, affected by the suspension of its exports of the products for use in construction works.
Among small and mid-sized makers of pre-painted steel sheets, SeAH Steel posted a year-on-year increase of 7.3 percent in its sales for the first six months of this year, boosted by the startup of its No. 2 color coating line. But Seil Steel suffered a drop of 13.1 percent in the sales of its pre-painted steel sheets in the same comparison. DK Dongshin's first-half sales gained 0.2 percent from a year ago, but BN Steela experienced a year-on-year drop of 10 percent in its sales for the six months.
In June alone, all the local makers of pre-painted steel sheets saw their monthly sales drop from a month ago due to the unfavorable market conditions. Union Steel, Dongbu Steel and Hyundai HYSCO posted a drop of 14.1 percent, 11.8 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively, in their monthly sales compared with a month ago. Sales by most small and mid-sized companies also decreased in June compared with a month earlier due to a fall in demand after a price increase.