POSCO Research Institute expects South Korean apparent consumption of hot rolled coil will increase by 1.7% to 33.09 million tonnes for 2012 from 2011, which hits the record for 3 years in a row. The output increase is more than the demand growth. The export is higher than import for 2 years in a row. The plate demand decreases by 5.3% to 11.91 million tonnes, which decreases for the first time in 3 years. The higher output causes higher export. The import is marginally higher than the export but the net import is a third of the figure in 2011
The institute sees the hot rolled coil output increases by 3.8% for 2012 from 2011. The output renews the record for 3 years in a row. The export increases by 2.1%, which renews the record for 4 years in a row. The import decreases by 10.8%, which decreases for 2 years in a row. The import is 37% lower than the peak of 2008. The institute sees the plate output increases by 4.9% for 2012 from 2011. The output renews the record for 3 years in a row. The export increases by 13.1% and hits first 3 million tonnes. The import decreases by 17.3%, which decreases for the first time in 2 years. The import is 46% lower than the peak of 2008. The institute revises the domestic demand downward by 514,000 tonnes for hot coil for 2012 compared with former outlook in January. The institute revised the plate demand upward by 35,000 tonnes. The institute revised the output downward by 284,000 tonnes for hot coil while the plate output was adjusted to add 426,000 tonnes.