The Brazilian production of crude steel reached 2.811 million metric tons (mt) in March 2026, comparable to 2,882 million mt in March 2025, according to the Brazilian steel institute IABR.
On a comparable basis, rolled product output dropped by 6.1 percent to 1.917 million mt, with the production of flat products declining by 3.8 percent to 1.104 million mt and the production of long products declining by 9.1 percent to 813,000 mt.
Similarly, domestic sales of steel products increased by 4.9 percent to 1.901 million mt and the apparent consumption of steel products increased by 1.1 percent to 2.419 million mt, while exports declined by 25.8 percent to 584,000 mt and imports declined by 8.3 percent to 608,000 mt.
According to IABR, the high decline in exports reflects a significant volume that was registered as shipment in February, in an anticipation of registrations that should also affect the numbers of April, according to SECEX, the foreign trade secretariat of the ministry of development, industry and foreign trade.
The Steel Industry Confidence Index (ICIA), the index assessing executive confidence within Brazil's steel sector, recorded a value of 51.7 points in April, versus 49.3 points in March, returning to the optimism mood, above the 50-point threshold separating optimism from pessimism.
Such index, according to IABR, reflects mainly expectations for the next six months in relation to the domestic economy, with such index measured at 56.6 points, while the index that measures the current conditions declined by 9.1 points to 42.0 points.
