Despite Mexico’s growing economy, the country’s steel industry registered a second quarter setback. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the basic iron and steel industry decreased 10.8 percent in Q2, compared to the same period in 2022. It is the second consecutive annual decline, according to SteelOrbis' analysis of data from the national statistics agency Inegi.
The drop in the second quarter adds to the annual drop of 5.0 percent in the first quarter. In the first half of the year, the drop was 8.0 percent.
However, the overall Mexican economy grew 3.6 percent in the second quarter and 3.7 percent in the first half of the year.
The basic iron and steel industry is made up of the “steel complexes” and the “manufacture of primary slabs and ferroalloys.”
In contrast, the GDP of the manufacture of iron and steel products continued to grow. In the second quarter it advanced 0.4 percent. It is the lowest growth rate in the last nine quarters.
In the accumulated six months, GDP grew 5.9 percent, this driven by 11.6 percent annual growth in the first quarter.
The basic iron and steel industry contributed 0.22 percent of Mexico's total GDP and the manufacture of iron and steel products contributed 0.28 percent of the total.