Sales of Vietnam construction longs fall in Sep

Sales of construction long products in Vietnam during September reached 382,000 tonnes, a fall of 21% from the previous month but an increase of 34.5% year-on-year, according to Vietnam Steel Association(VSA) data. Production of longs in September at 417,000t was lower by 4.9% m-o-m but higher by 2.5% y-o-y.

Consequently, cumulative sales of longs during this year’s .rst nine months reached 3.65m t, up 5.2%from corresponding period of 2010. Production rose to 3.74m t, an increase of 5.1% over January-September last year.

“Sales for September fell because of the rainy season and because of flooding in the Mekong Delta region,” VSA vice-chairman and general secretary Dinh Huy Tam tells SBB.September sales could also have been dragged down because sales during the previous month (August)were strong at 483,000t, he notes.
Macroeconomic policies implemented to rein in inflation – particularly those keeping bank lending interest rates high and restricting credit financing – have dampened steel demand.

“Apparent steel consumption could fall by 8-10% this year,” Tam says. Steel imports into Vietnam,particularly of .at steel products, have fallen sharply this year because of the slowdown in the electrical appliance, white goods and shipbuilding/ship repair sectors among others, he adds.
The VSA tracks data from its member steel mills that together contribute around 85% of Vietnam's long steel production.
Source: SBB Daily