A labor union for the ready-mixed concrete industry, which is under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, began an indefinite strike over pay for transportation on Monday.
Korea started slapping temporary anti-dumping duties of 72.23 percent on white Portland cement from Egypt for four months, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Cement trucks are parked at a ready-mixed concrete factory in Anyang, Gyeonggi, on Thursday, the eighth day of the strike by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity and the truckers' refusal to transport materials including concrete.
An excavator demolishes Sampyo’s ready-mixed concrete plant in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on Tuesday, ending its 46-year history.
Cement prices will rise for the second time this year, and shares of cement makers are surging while ready-mix concrete makers are scrambling for ways to lessen the impact.
Ready-mixed concrete trucks are shown at a cement plant in Seoul on Wednesday. Sampyo Cement said it will raise its price of cement by 11 percent to 105,000 won ($80) per ton starting September.
Business lobbying groups say the trucker strike is causing major problems to important industries, and petrochemical companies’ naphtha crackers and cement makers’ kilns may have to stop if it continues.
Korean cement companies decided Wednesday to increase their production by 35 percent on-quarter for the next three months to ease concerns over a supply shortage amid the crisis surrounding Ukraine, the industry ministry said.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap
