Taiwan Steelmakers' Export Up 14.1% YoY in Q3, 2011
2012/04/03 | By Steve ChuangTaiwan's steelmaking industry exported NT$148.12 billion of products in the third quarter of 2011, up 3.6% from a quarter earlier (QoQ) or 14.1% from a year ago (YoY), according to statistics compiled by the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC).
MIRDC's data show the industry's total output reached NT$358.29 billion in the same quarter, down 0.9% QoQ but up 5% YoY, with imports totaling NT$105.8 billion representing a 4.6% decline QoQ or a up 3.1% YoY.
Steel coils, including hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized coils, made up the largest share of the total exports. According to the MIRDC, China, Vietnam and Malaysia were the top three importers of Taiwan-made steel products during the quarter; while 38.22% of the imports were from China, 34.85% from Japan and 14.26% from Korea, with hot rolled stainless steel coils being the major import.
The scale of the domestic steel market totaled about NT$343.03 billion, down 3.8% QoQ but up 1% YoY, with the quarterly decline attributable to, say MIRDC analysts, the mounting debt crisis in Europe that caused lukewarm demand from downstream customers. Additionally, to counter sluggish demand and downtrend in international steel prices since April of 2011, some Taiwanese steelmakers had been forced to cut output, another reason sapping industry growth in the quarter.
Seasonal Factor
MIRDC analysts continued that the sluggishness of the Taiwanese steelmaking industry in the quarter also resulted from seasonal factor, with some American and European steelmakers usually shutting down electric arc furnaces temporarily to give workers time off.
The industry slowdown lingered into the fourth quarter of the year, which, according to MIRDC analysts, was mainly due to still uncertain economic climate in the U.S. and Europe, darkening global steelmakers' outlook for the quarter, but the global steel market should turn around after manufacturing suspensions in the summer rainy season.
While developed economies in North America and Europe suffer from waning market demand caused by public debt problems, credit tightening and high unemployment, China, however, will drive growth of the global steel market in the years to come, said MIRDC analysts.
The analysts said that China had absorbed over 40% of global steel output as of the end of the third quarter of 2011, outpacing OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) members who had consumed only around 30% of the total. This also indicated that China will be able to increasingly influence global steel prices, especially when economic growths in the other major steel consuming countries as the U.S., Japan, Brazil, Italy, India and EU have either slowed significantly or reversed.
Taiwan's steel industry might remain slack until the third quarter of 2012, partly due to buyers' more cautious restocking than before, and partly due to unstable global financial markets, slowing car sales in China, sagging economic growths in Brazil and India that will drive down international steel prices, said MIRDC analysts. (SC)
Output of Taiwan's Fastener Industry | ||||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||
Q3 | Total for First 9 Months | Full Year | ||||||
| Value | Value | Value | Q-on-Q Growth | Value | Y-on-Y Growth | Value | Y-on-Y Growth |
Output | 958.4 | 1418.7 | 385.3 | -0.9% | 1159.8 | 11.1% | 1528.8 | 7.6% |
Export | 401.5 | 509.9 | 148.1 | -3.6% | 422.7 | 11.5% | 563.4 | 10.5% |
Import | 250.1 | 392.6 | 105.8 | 3.6% | 324.7 | 10.0% | 425.3 | 8.3% |