According to Alacero, the Latin American steel association, in the January-July period this year, Latin American crude steel production totaled 37.67 million mt, up by 23.5 percent year on year and by 2.7 percent compared to the first seven months of 2019. In the given period, Latin American finished steel output amounted to 32.79 million mt, increasing by 30.4 percent year on year and up by 8.1 percent compared to the same period of 2019. Alacero stated that the Latin American steel industry has maintained its recovery with higher steel consumption.
Regarding steel consumption, Latin American steel consumption in the January-June period this year was 37.8 percent higher than in the same period in 2020, reflecting the recovery in steel-using sectors. In June this year, intra-regional steel imports increased by 1.2 percent, reaching 7.4 percent of the region’s total steel imports, while extra-regional exports accounted for 30.8 percent of Latin America’s total steel exports.
The region’s steel trade deficit in June decreased around 8.5 percent compared to May, due to a slight decrease in imports and an increase in exports, while it increased by 64.2 percent year on year in the first six months this year.