Colombian steelmaker Gerdau Diaco, a 50/50 joint venture between Brazilian integrated steelmaker Gerdau and Putney Capital Management, expects both steel production and sales volumes to decline in 2020 due to Covid-19.
Jefferson Marko, CEO at Gerdau Diaco, told Colombia’s Portafolio that output should decline by 20 percent, while sales volumes are expected to drop 23 percent, both on a year-over-year basis. He added that there has been a growing recovery of the local civil construction market, a trend which should persist in Q4 2020.
“The reactivation of the civil construction (segment) allows that many players intervene and activate a whole supply chain: transportation, steel supply, cement, among other materials,” he said.
Without disclosing specific production levels, Marko said Gerdau Diaco is operating at “pre-Covid” levels.
“We’ve increased output to full capacity to have the products ready for our clients. However, we depend on the (electricity) generation and scrap markets, which so far has seen (its activity) decline about 30 percent as compared to 2019,” he added.