Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-May period of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 26.1 million mt, down 14 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Honduras, up 41,600 mt (+39%), in Peru, up 36,400 mt (+3.0%) and in Mexico, rising by 17,300 mt (+0.2%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.7 million mt (-27%) in Brazil, was down 148,000 mt (-7.0%) in Argentina, dropped by 42,000 mt (-4.0%) in Chile and narrowed by 71,000 mt (-4.0%) in Colombia, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first five months of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 5.2 million mt, falling by 33 percent compared to the January-May period of last year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 1.5 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (2.5 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.0 million mt), Chile (665,000 mt) and Peru (648,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 4.8 million mt in June this year, decreasing by four percent month on month and down by 10 percent compared to June last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-June period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 25 million mt, down eight percent year on year.