SeAh Japan Increases Automotive Steel Sales to Japanese Automakers

SeAH Japan, a local subsidiary under SeAH Group of South Korea, has increased sales volume of imported steel products, including special steel bar and structural pipe for automobiles mainly from SeAH Steel Corporation, in Japan. SeAH Japan’s sales rate of automotive steels is expected to rise by 10 percentage points to 20% through 2010.

SeAH Japan has mainly sold imported steel tubes from SeAH Steel applied to building constructions. However, Japanese construction market has recently shrunk year by year. SeAH Japan turned to strengthen sales for manufactures in automobile, construction machine or industrial machine industries.

SeAH Japan’s order receipts have steadily increased for structural steel tubes for machines made by SeAH Steel and special steel bars for automobiles made by SeAH Besteel. The orders have also increased for steel products applied to construction machines, industrial machines and cylinders.

Drawn steel tube makers have adopted structural tube as a material and supplied the processed products to automotive component makers. Meanwhile, special steel bar (S40C) is directly supplied to auto component makers.

SeAH Steel’s automotive steel tube is adopted by South Korean and European automakers, whose market share is 60% in South Korea as a material for drawn steel tube.