Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first eight months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 40.41 million mt, down 12 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 158,300 mt (+1.0%), in Peru, up 145,000 mt (+8.0%), in Panama, growing by 45,500 mt (+16%) and in Honduras, rising by 32,000 mt (+16%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.9 million mt (-19%) in Brazil, was down 821,000 mt (-23%) in Argentina, dropped by 166,000 mt (-9.0%) in Chile, diminished by 138,000 mt (-5.0%) in Colombia and narrowed by 180,000 mt (-16%) in Ecuador, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-August period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 6.9 million mt, falling by 33 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 2.4 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (3.0 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.5 million mt), Peru (1.0 million mt) and Chile (1.0 million mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.0 million mt in September this year, decreasing by four percent month on month and down by four percent compared to September last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-August period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 33.8 million mt, down six percent year on year.