Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first nine months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 45.24 million mt, down 12 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Peru, up 140,200 mt (+7.0%), in Mexico, up 76,200 mt (+0.4%) and in Honduras, rising by 23,600 mt (+11%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.6 million mt (-16%) in Brazil, was down 902,000 mt (-23%) in Argentina, dropped by 166,000 mt (-8.0%) in Chile, diminished by 189,000 mt (-6.0%) in Colombia and narrowed by 311,000 mt (-24%) in Ecuador, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-September period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 7.7 million mt, falling by 33 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 2.8 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (3.3 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.8 million mt), Chile (1.2 million mt) and Peru (1.2 million mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.2 million mt in October this year, increasing by four percent month on month and down by four percent compared to October last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-September period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 37.9 million mt, down six percent year on year.