Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first four months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 22.4 million mt, up seven percent compared with the same period of 2016. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 526,000 mt (+6.0%), in Colombia, up 94,000 mt (+7.0%) and in Brazil, rising by 83,000 mt (+1.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 158,000 mt (-11%) in Argentina, was down 128,000 mt (-55%) in Bolivia, dropped by 134,000 mt (-25%) in Ecuador and diminished by 130,000 mt (-43%) in Guatemala, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-April period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 4.6 million mt, rising by 23 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil and Argentina registered surpluses, of 840,000 mt and 46,000 mt, respectively, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (1.8 million mt), followed by Colombia (814,000 mt), Chile (550,000 mt) and Peru (509,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.4 million mt in May this year, rising by two percent month on month and up by 10 percent compared to May 2016.
Meanwhile, in the January-April period this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 17.3 million mt, up four percent year on year.