South Korean steelmakers are at odds with local shipyards over the price hike of thick steel plates used for shipbuilding, industry sources said Friday.
Industry leader POSCO and other steelmakers are pushing for hike prices of 6 millimeter or thicker plates, citing soaring iron ore costs and electricity rates in Asia's third-largest economy.
But shipbuilders, including Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., want steelmakers to refrain from raising prices, which they say would come as a big burden to their performances.
Shipbuilders and steel companies are very sensitive to hikes in prices of thick steel plates, a key material that accounts for about one-fourth of shipbuilding costs.
Local shipyards claim prices of thick steel plates remain high in spite of local steelmakers' decrease of 100,000 won (US$75) per ton last year.
Currently, the price of steel plates ranges from 1.1 million to 1.2 million won per ton, compared with around 600,000 won per ton in 2020.
Steel plate prices, however, have been on an upward spiral in the wake of jumps in raw materials costs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
