Posted on 24 Nov 2015
Stiff competition between Hyundai Steel and Posco in the automotive sheet market has seen the two steelmakers compete to expand their continuous galvanising lines (CGLs).
Hyundai and Posco are the only two steelmakers in South Korea with CGLs, according to the BusinessKorea website.
Hyundai Steel is trialling a CGL at its second cold-rolled coil plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, where commercial production will commence early in 2016. The new line will add 500kt/yr to the plant, taking its total capacity to 2Mt. When combined with the company’s first cold rolled coil plant, Hyundai’s total annual production capacity will 5.5Mt.
Comparing Hyundai’s total production capacity with that of Posco, the gap between the two companies has narrowed to just 3Mt (POSCO’s annual capacity stands at 8.5Mt).
Posco is planning additional CGL lines in Thailand and China as well as in South Korea, making it likely that the gap between it and Hyundai will widen.
Hyundai Steel accounted for 50% of auto sheet supply to the Hyundai Motor Group in 2013 compared to Posco’s 40%. In 2014, Hyundai’s share increased to 60%, reducing Posco’s to just 30%.
Source:Steel Times International
