HHI concludes plate price talks with Japanese mills

South Korea's largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (HHI), has announced an agreement with Japanese steelmakers on the price of shipbuilding plate imports from Japan for the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. According to the agreement, the shipbuilding plate price will increase $20/mt to $600/mt FOB for deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2006, and will increase by another $10/mt to $610/mt FOB for deliveries in the first quarter of 2007. Japanese steelmakers were initially asking for a $100/mt price hike. However, HHI preferred to increase its imports from China rather than accept such an increase. HHI has projected a consumption of 3.2 million metric tons of shipbuilding plates in 2007 - 800,000 mt of which will be obtained from Japan, 700,000 mt from China and the rest from the domestic market.