Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-November period of 2015 apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 63.49 million mt, down three percent as compared with the same period of 2014. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 1.8 million mt (+9.0%), in Argentina, up 248,000 mt (+5.0%) and in Chile rising by 165,000 mt (+7.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 3.8 million mt (-16%) in Brazil and was down 434,000 mt (-14%) in Peru, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first eleven months of last year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 13.9 million mt, falling by 2.8 percent compared to the January-November period of 2014. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 1.7 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (6.1 million mt), followed by Colombia (2.2 million mt), Chile (1.7 million mt) and Peru (1.3 million mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 63.7 million mt in 2015, down three percent compared to 2014. In December alone, crude steel production in the region amounted to 4.9 million mt, down five percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the first eleven months of last year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 49.5 million mt, down four percent year on year.