S Korea's biggest steelmaker to cut output in March

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Chinese media) -- South Korea's biggest steelmaker POSCO might cut

production output in March due to decreasing demand from automakers and

shipbuilders, the company's CEO Chung Joon-yang said Friday.

"We expect output reduction of up to 800,000 tons in the first three months

of the year," Chung Joon-yang told reporters after being appointed as the chief

of POSCO.

More output cuts will be made if demand does not recover after the first

half of the year, he added.

"If the current downturn ends in the first half, our production cut will be

only about 2 million tons, but if it's extended to two to three years, we may

have to trim outputs by 30 percent," Chung said.

POSCO announced earlier to reduce its output of crude steel by around

200,000 tons in February, following a reduction of 570,000 tons during the two

previous months.

According to POSCO, the sales of the company are expected to fall by up to

12 percent this year and its steel output could drop by as much as 12 percent to

29 million tons.