South Korean steel producers expect that the average capacity utilization rate of their rebar mills will exceed 70 percent again in July, as reported by Korea Metal Journal.
Local steelmaker YK Steel, which had significantly reduced its rebar production in June due to facility repair works at its steelmaking mill No. 2 and rolling mill No. 2, plans to sharply increase its rebar production in July. YK Steel produced only 25,000 mt of rebar in June, one third of its average monthly output, while it plans to produce 50,000 mt in July.
The average capacity utilization rate of South Korean rebar mills was above 70 percent from March to May this year, having been at around 60 percent in January and February. In June, the capacity utilization rate dipped to 69 percent. However, in July local steelworks are aiming to produce a total of 736,600 mt of rebar, equivalent to an average capacity utilization rate of 70.2 percent at their rebar mills for the given month.