China Steel Corp (中鋼), Taiwan’s largest mill, said it intends to delay the maintenance of a furnace by about a month because of a steel shortage.
Regular repairs on its No. 1 furnace, which can produce 1.9 million tonnes of steel annually, will probably start in January instead of November or December, executive vice president Chung Lo-min (鍾樂民) said by telephone yesterday.
The plant will be shut for more than four months, he said.
China Steel, which has an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes, is delaying the stoppage as the economic recovery is boosting steel demand.
Taiwan’s economy could return to growth in the October-to-December period following five straight quarters of contraction, the government’s statistics bureau said last month.
“There’s a shortage in the market as demand seems to be improving,” Chung said from Kaohsiung, where the company is located.
China Steel’s unit, Dragon Steel Corp (中龍), intends to start its first furnace, which will be able to produce 2.5 million tonnes of steel a year, in February, Chung said last month.
The new furnace will help make up for a shortfall from the closure of its No. 1 furnace, he said yesterday, without elaborating.
China Steel fell 1 percent to NT$30.65 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
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