Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first five months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 28.7 million mt, remained stable compared with the same period of 2017. The highest increases were registered in Brazil, up 531,000 mt (+7%), in Argentina, up 369,000 mt (+19%) and in Ecuador, rising by 68,000 mt (+9%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 21 percent in Peru, was down 13 percent in Bolivia and dropped by five percent in Mexico, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-May period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 5.5 million mt, decreasing by 18 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus, amounting to 1.1 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (2.5 million mt), followed by Colombia (one million mt), Chile (682,000 mt), Peru (537,000 mt) and Ecuador (508.000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.4 million mt in June this year, increasing by four percent month on month and up by six percent compared to June 2017.
Meanwhile, in the January-May period this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 24 million mt, up six percent year on year.