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 27.4 million mt, up four percent compared with the same period of 2016. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 636,000 mt (+6.0%), in Chile, up 31,000 mt (+3.0%) and in Colombia, rising by 52,000 mt (+3.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 176,000 mt (-9.0%) in Argentina, was down 145,000 mt (-51%) in Bolivia, dropped by 178,000 mt (-27%) in Ecuador, declined by 165,000 mt (-43%) in Guatemala and diminished by 13,000 mt (-10%) in Honduras, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-May period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 5.6 million mt, rising by 22 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil and Argentina registered surpluses, of 1.1 million mt and 81,000 mt, respectively, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (2.4 million mt), followed by Colombia (961,000 mt), Costa Rica (735,000 mt), Chile (702,000) and Peru (660,000).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.1 million mt in June this year, falling by seven percent month on month and up by two percent compared to June 2016.
Meanwhile, in the January-May period this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 21.7 million mt, up four percent year on year.