The Argentine chamber of the steel industry, Acero Argentino (AA), reported that the country’s crude steel production in February has reached 316,400 mt against 299,700 mt in January.
On a comparative basis, the production of HRC declined by 71.6 percent to 47,000 mt, the production of CRC declined by 59.1 percent to 46,300 mt, and the production of long products declined by 5.0 percent to 114,800 mt.
When compared to January 2024, the numbers show crude steel production declining by 2.2 percent, HRC production declining by 30.1 percent, CRC production declining by 18.8 percent, and long products production declining by 3.9 percent.
According to AA, the sharp decline in the production of rolled products, in contrast with the increase in crude steel, reflects unscheduled stoppage of different plants due to delays in the recovery of the expected demand.
In the civil construction sector, production declined by an estimated 11 percent from January, although increasing by 8 percent from February 2024.
Conversely, the automotive sector production increased by 42 percent from January and by 14 percent from February 2024, while machinery and agriculture equipment potential sales have increased by 30 percent when compared to February 2024.
Sales in the energy sector have maintained stability, while demand from the domestic appliances sector was reduced as the sector is facing competition from imports.