Doosan Infracore Co., the heavy equipment maker under South Korea’s conglomerate Doosan Group, plugs off its factories in Gunsan and Incheon, Korea for maximum 10 days to adjust inventories from dwindled shipments amid pandemic-driven economic downturn.

The Gunsan factory that produces excavators and wheel loaders for overseas markets will be shuttered from May 26 to June 5, and the Incheon factory from June 3 to 5 including June 4 to celebrate the anniversary of its foundation, the company announced on Monday in a regulatory filing.

Doosan Infracore shares on Tuesday fell 2.55 percent to finish at 5,360 won ($4.34) in Seoul.

“We have decided to adjust output to maintain inventory at appropriate levels since we have enough inventories to cover current orders,” said a company official.

The company is grappling with plunging orders from overseas markets where factory and construction sites have not fully normalized across the world to address the spread of COVID-19.

Order book slightly improved as machinery demand picked up in China where the coronavirus outbreak was contained earlier than other countries. Doosan Infracore sold 7,242 units of excavators up to April this year in China, similar to last year’s record of 7,545 units. During the period, a total of 104,210 units were sold in China, up from 95,626 units a year earlier.

Earlier, local heavy equipment maker Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. announced to close its Ulsan plant for 10 days next month – on June 1-5 and June 15-19 – to moderate output amid lingering uncertainties in the market.

By Lee Ha-yeon

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