8,000 truckers halt concrete at Samsung, SK Hynix sites

A strike by 8,000 South Korean truck drivers has halted concrete deliveries to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix semiconductor construction sites, threatening delays to chip capacity expansion.

A strike by 8,000 South Korean concrete truck drivers entered its fifth day Friday, halting deliveries to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix semiconductor plant sites and raising the risk of construction delays at two of the country's largest chip projects.

"The work stoppage has effectively shut down concrete pouring at both the Samsung Pyeongtaek campus and the SK Hynix Yongin cluster," said an industry official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the disruption publicly.

The National Ready-Mixed Concrete Transport Workers' Union suspended deliveries in the Seoul metropolitan area starting June 8, demanding a roughly 6% increase in transport rates. A tentative deal reached June 9 under government mediation — raising fees by KRW 4,200, or 5.5%, per trip — was rejected by 68.3% of voting members, with 7,222 of 7,517 members participating. Daily concrete shipments in the Seoul metro area have fallen to less than 10% of the normal 200,000 cubic meters, according to industry estimates.

The disruption comes as Samsung and SK Hynix race to expand advanced memory chip production to meet surging artificial intelligence demand. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said this week the company plans to triple wafer production capacity by 2034. Any prolonged delay could tighten global DRAM and NAND supply, potentially pushing up chip prices while delaying revenue from the new facilities.

Yongin and Pyeongtaek sites hit hardest

At SK Hynix's Yongin semiconductor cluster — a 4.2 million-square-meter site set to house four advanced chip plants — all concrete pouring has been halted after roughly 10 local ready-mixed concrete manufacturers, including Sungshin Ready-Mixed Concrete and Halla Encom, suspended deliveries. More than 90% of transport operators serving the Pyeongtaek and Yongin areas belong to the striking union, industry officials said.

At Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus, union members blocked batch plant entrances with personal vehicles Thursday, forcing two manufacturers to cancel shipments and halting scheduled concrete pouring. Samsung declined to comment. SK Hynix said in a statement the short-term impact is expected to be limited as the company adjusted its construction sequence, but acknowledged a prolonged stoppage could affect longer-term schedules.

Market fallout spreads across Korean equities

The strike adds to mounting headwinds for South Korean equities. Foreign investors have sold a net 74 trillion won ($57 billion) of Korean stocks over 23 consecutive trading days through June 10, the longest selling streak on record. The KOSPI 200 Volatility Index climbed to 89.17 during Thursday's session, approaching the all-time high of 91.23 set the prior trading day.

The KOSPI index closed up 0.43% at 7,763.95 on Thursday, with SK Hynix shares rising 2.59% on the capacity expansion news while Samsung Electronics fell 1.16%. The last time a major transport strike disrupted Korean industrial output, in 2022 during a nationwide trucker walkout, the KOSPI fell 3.2% over two weeks while semiconductor stocks underperformed the broader market by 4 percentage points, according to Korea Exchange data.

The union said it plans to re-enter negotiations with management after the tentative deal was rejected. "The strike will continue until we reach an agreement that the members can accept," a KRCTU representative said.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.