Hyundai Steel, South Korea’s second-biggest steelmaker, said on Tuesday it has temporarily shut down one of its three domestic steel reinforcement bar (rebar) plants due to low demand.
The rebar plant in Incheon, just west of Seoul, will be suspended for the entire month of April, a company spokesperson said, adding the other two plants remain operational, reports Yonhap news agency.
The company expects the plant’s one-month suspension will help ease an oversupply in the market where steelmakers suffer from declining product prices amid tougher competition.
On March 14, Hyundai Steel entered an emergency management mode in response to growing challenges, including the recent imposition of steel tariffs by the Donald Trump administration and ongoing strife with unionised workers.
The company had temporarily suspended its cold-rolled steel facility in Dangjin, about 80 kms southwest of Seoul, from Feb. 24 to March 31 in the wake of a monthslong strike by its workers demanding pay hikes.
The union workers at the cold-rolled steel facility are again planning to stage a walkout on April 8, the spokesperson said.
The pickling line/tandem cold mill (PL/TCM) facility is a key part of the company’s integrated steel mill in Dangjin.
Meanwhile, South Korean industries stayed vigilant on Tuesday over a wave of U.S. tariffs set to take effect this week, fuelling concerns over the potential impact on the country’s export-driven economy, industry observers noted.
On Wednesday (U.S. time), Washington is set to unveil its reciprocal tariffs, taking into account each country’s tariff and non-tariff barriers against U.S. exports. The following day, the country will begin imposing a 25 percent duty on all foreign-made automobiles and key auto parts entering the U.S.
Trump has also threatened to impose sectoral tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, throwing South Korean exporters across most key industries into a crisis mode.
Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s largest carmaker, has been bracing for an imminent challenge since Trump’s reelection, and has accelerated efforts to ramp up local production in America, the group’s single-largest national market.
In a press conference at the White House last week, the group pledged a US$21 billion investment in the U.S. over the next four years and committed to expanding local production.
The group plans to increase the capacity of its newly opened Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia from 300,000 to 500,000 units per year. Combined with its other plants in Alabama and Georgia, the group aims to boost its annual production capacity in the U.S. to over 1 million units.
