The Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) stated that November 2025 marked a shift from previous months, with stable steel production and a slight year-on-year decline in imports, while apparent consumption continued to weaken across the region.
Alacero reported that crude steel production in Latin America reached 4.7 million mt in November, up 0.4 percent year on year, though output in the January-November period declined by 2.4 percent. Rolled steel production totaled 4.3 million mt, remaining unchanged year on year in November. In the January-November period, rolled steel output fell 3.5 percent year on year, with flat products posting increases, while long products and seamless tubes declined.
According to Alacero, apparent steel consumption fell 1.6 percent year on year in November to 6.0 million mt, marking the fourth consecutive month-on-month decline. However, cumulative apparent consumption in January-November 2025 rose 1.1 percent year on year to 68.2 million mt, with five of the region’s six main economies recording growth, led by Argentina and Brazil.
Alacero stated that steel imports declined 1.6 percent year on year in November to 2.2 million mt. In contrast, cumulative imports increased 6.8 percent year on year in the first 11 months, driven by Brazil (+20.6 percent) and Argentina (+41.6 percent), while Mexico continued to contract (-14.6 percent). As a result, imports accounted for 40.3 percent of apparent consumption in January-November, the highest level on record, the association noted.
The association reported that exports remained weak at 0.5 million mt in November, with a decline of 8.3 percent year on year seen in the January-November period. Consequently, the regional steel trade deficit stood at 1.7 million mt in November, reaching 21.9 million mt over the January-November 2025 period.
