Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first six months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 33.5 million mt, remaining almost stable compared with the same period of 2017. The highest increases were registered in Brazil, up 847,000 mt (+9%), in Argentina, up 353,000 mt (+15%) and in Uruguay, rising by 103,000 mt (+4%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 63 percent in Venezuela, was down 21 percent in Peru and dropped by seven percent in Honduras, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-June period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 6.6 million mt, decreasing by 18 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus, amounting to 1.3 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (3 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.2 million mt), Chile (822,000 mt), Peru (685,000 mt) and Ecuador (575.000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.6 million mt in July this year, increasing by four percent month on month and up by five percent compared to July 2017.
Meanwhile, in the January-June period this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 27.4 million mt, up five percent year on year.