Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first half of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 34.2 million mt, similar to the volume in the same period of 2013. The highest increases were registered in Colombia, up 262.000 mt (+15%), in Mexico, up 1.04 million mt (+11%) and in Argentina, up 121.000 mt (+5%), while finished steel consumption in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile decreased by 637,000 mt (-41%), 276,000 mt (-2%), 216,000 mt (-21%) and 163,000 mt (-12%) respectively, all on year-on-year basis. In June alone, apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 5.6 million mt.
In the first half of the current year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 7 million mt, increasing by 11 percent compared to January-June 2013. In the given period, all Latin American countries presented steel trade deficits, led by Mexico with an imbalance of 2.3 million mt. Other countries that showed significant deficits were Colombia (1.1 million mt), Peru (780,092 mt) and Chile (743,300 mt).
On the other hand, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 37.8 million mt in the January-July period of this year, in line with the same period of 2013. In July alone, crude steel production in the region amounted to 5.6 million mt, down two percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the first seven months of this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean decreased by two percent year on year, amounting to 32.2 million mt. In July alone, finished steel production in the region amounted to 4.5 million mt, down five percent year on year.