Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has stated that in 2021 Latin American crude steel production totaled 64.8 million mt, up by 15.7 percent, while the region’s rolled steel production rose by 19.5 percent to 55.7 million mt, both year on year.
Regarding steel consumption, Latin American steel consumption in the given year was 74.8 million mt, up by 26.6 percent year on year. In 2021, the region’s steel exports reached 9 million mt, up by 19.9 percent and steel imports totaled 28.8 million mt, increasing by 46.7 percent, both year on year.
In February this year, Latin American crude steel production fell by 6.8 percent compared to January totaling 4.8 million mt, while the region’s rolled steel production totaled 4.2 million mt, down by 3.3 percent compared to the previous month. In the January-February period this year the region’s crude steel production was 10 million mt, down by 2.2 percent, while the rolled steel production totaled 8.6 million mt, up by 2.3 percent, both year on year.
Alacero expects a 2.1 percent decrease in apparent steel consumption in Latin America in 2022.
Meanwhile, the association stated that the war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively impacted the steel industry as the two countries have been among the largest steel exporters. Due to the unavailability of steel and raw materials from Ukraine and Russia, the international market has had to look for new alternatives. The current situation mainly affects the US and Europe, although impacts in some Latin American countries, such as the Dominic Republic, which are looking for new sources for raw materials, are not ruled out.