According to the Brazil Steel Institute (IABr), in the first quarter of this year Brazil's crude steel output fell 4.3 percent year on year to 8.35 million metric tons. In the given quarter, Brazilian rolled steel output decreased by 1.3 percent to 6.2 million metric tons, including 3.65 million metric tons of flat products - up 0.9 percent, and 2.6 million metric tons of long products - down 4.3 percent, all compared to the corresponding period of 2012.
On the other hand, in March this year Brazilian crude steel production totaled 2.9 million metric tons, rising by 10.1 percent compared to February this year and down 7.6 percent compared to March 2012. Brazil's rolled steel product output totaled 2.2 million mt in March, rising by 12.6 percent month on month and down 1.7 percent year on year. Of this total, the country's flat steel output stood at 1.3 million mt - rising 10.4 percent over February and down 2.1 percent year on year, while Brazil's long steel output amounted to 931,300 metric tons, rising by 15.8 percent month on month and down 1.2 percent compared to March 2012.
Domestic steel product sales totaled 1.9 million metric tons in March, up 0.5 percent year on year, while domestic sales in the first quarter totaled 5.4 million metric tons, increasing by one percent compared to the same period last year.
Brazil's exports of steel products in March amounted to 718,600 metric tons, falling by 4.1 percent, worth US$474 million, down 10.2 percent, both compared to March 2012. Steel product exports in the January-March period of this year totaled 2.5 million mt, worth US$1.6 billion, with decreases of 4.6 percent in volume and 13.7 percent in value compared to the corresponding period of 2012.
Meanwhile, the country's steel import volume in March totaled 271,100 metric tons (US$320 million), with the total steel imports in the first quarter amounting to 843,200 metric tons (US$994 million), representing a 15.4 percent decrease from the same period last year.