In October this year, South Korea’s imports of cold rolled steel sheets declined slightly from September levels but still exceeded 50,000 mt.
According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), South Korea’s inbound shipments of cold rolled sheet totaled 50,816 mt in October, down 0.6 percent from September but up 22.5 percent from a year earlier.
South Korea’s imports of Chinese cold rolled sheets totaled 37,780 mt in October, down 4.5 percent month on month, accounting for 74 percent of the total cold rolled sheet import figure. In October, South Korea imported 8,039 mt of cold rolled sheet from Japan and 1,785 mt from Taiwan, down 13 percent and 13.6 percent year on year, respectively.
Meanwhile, South Korea exported 296,711 mt of cold rolled sheet in October, a slight drop from the preceding month’s 272,617 mt. Japan was the largest destination for outbound cold rolled sheet shipments with 63,167 mt.
Furthermore, South Korea’s imports of hot dip galvanized steel sheets in October increased by three percent to 24,937 mt month on month, while South Korea’s exports of these materials decreased 4.8 percent month on month to 37,973 mt, including 10,351 mt sold to China.
The upward trend in South Korea’s imports of hot dip galvanized sheets is expected to continue up to the end of the year.