According to a press release issued by Alacero, the Latin American steel association, on Tuesday, May 17, the semi-annual meeting of Alacero was held in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, and was presided over by Jefferson de Paula, president of Alacero, with participation of the members of the board.
The main topics on the agenda were, on the one hand, the global and regional economic and steelmaking scenario, and, on the other, issues related to further strengthening the presence and public participation of Alacero.
Regarding industry issues, it was stressed that the world economy has changed (Brexit, Trump, etc.) with strong orientations towards protectionism and the weakening of globalization.
It is estimated that the global economy will grow by 3.3 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. Latin America, meanwhile, returns to the path of growth (modest but positive) with 1.1 percent this year and 2.0 percent in 2018.
With regard to the steel market, worldsteel’s latest forecasts for global steel demand were discussed, with estimated total demand of 1.53 billion mt for 2017, 1.3 percent above 2016, and 1.55 billion mt for 2018, up 0.9 percent compared to 2017.
For Latin America, the estimated growth of steel demand is 2.5 percent for 2017 with 65 million mt, and 3.9 percent for 2018 with 69 million mt, underpinned by a better economic performance of the countries of the region.
It was reported that the countries of the region continue to face imports under conditions of unfair trade, mainly against Chinese steel products.
The global and regional economic scenario has been improving and everything indicates that 2017 and 2018 will be years of better growth than the recent ones, according to Alacero. This is favorable for the steel demand, but it is estimated that the market will continue to be affected by overcapacity, Chinese exports and by the volatility in prices and profitability.