South Korea: Stainless steel hot-rolled output drops 25% m-o-m in May; domestic sales remain resilient

• • Production declines amid scheduled maintenance

• • Imports rise 28% m-o-m, lifting apparent consumption

SteelDaily: South Korea’s stainless steel hot-rolled (HR) wide strip production declined sharply in May 2026, primarily due to scheduled maintenance at domestic mills. However, domestic sales remained relatively stable, while higher imports supported apparent consumption during the month.

According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), stainless steel HR wide strip production stood at 123,978 t in May, down 24.6% m-o-m from April’s output of over 160,000 t and 4.7% y-o-y. The decline marked the lowest monthly production level since February, reflecting planned maintenance activities at major producers.

Exports also weakened during the month, falling 11.7% m-o-m and 5.3% y-o-y to 38,569 t. In contrast, domestic sales remained resilient at 28,022 t, down only 1.9% m-o-m but up 5.5% y-o-y, indicating relatively steady demand in the local market despite lower production.

Meanwhile, inventories dropped sharply by 61.2% m-o-m to 12,959 t at the end of May from 33,441 t in April, reaching the lowest level since July 2025. The sharp inventory drawdown reflected reduced production amid maintenance shutdowns.

Imports of stainless steel HR wide strip increased 28.1% m-o-m to 18,062 t, lifting apparent consumption (domestic sales plus imports) to 46,084 t in May. Imported material accounted for 39.2% of apparent consumption, compared with 33.0% in April, indicating greater reliance on overseas supply during the production slowdown.

During January-May 2026, stainless steel HR wide strip production totalled 711,545 t, down 1.5% y-o-y, while cumulative exports reached 211,806 t. Apparent consumption during the five-month period stood at 235,338 t, marginally up 0.2% y-o-y, highlighting stable domestic demand despite lower output.

The sharp decline in inventories and stable domestic sales suggest underlying demand remained healthy, while increased imports helped bridge the temporary supply gap created by maintenance-related production cuts.

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