South Korean steelmaker Posco said Thursday it has hit the 1-billion ton milestone of crude steel production since 1973, amid intensifying oversupply globally.

The volume is equivalent to the material needed to produce 1 billion midsized cars or 20,000 units of Lotte Tower, the nation’s tallest skyscraper in Seoul.

Posco began producing the first molten metal at its blast furnace in 1973. It produced 1 million tons of crude steel, supplied steel for 25,000 cars and provided 12,000 compensated gross tonnage for shipbuilding that year.

Last year, its crude steel production surged to 37.7 million tons. It also supplied steel for 4 million cars and provided 7.7 million compensated gross tonnage for shipbuilding, according to the steelmaker.

Posco’s Pohang and Gwangyang steel mills are the world’s largest crude steel producers, supplying high-strength plated steel sheet, alloy plated steel sheets for solar structures, cryogenic high manganese steel and 9 percent nickel plate steel to key industries at home and abroad. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)