Prices for Mexican domestic steel beam IPR (ASTM-A6) fell last week by about US$12/mt, to reach the level of US$872/mt ex-mill. Meanwhile, the price of steel beam I (ASTM-A36) dropped US$4-$14/mt in the last two weeks, falling to US$854/mt ex-mill.
Although the Mexican government's National Infrastructure Program calls for an investment of US$350 billion, purchase orders for projects have not yet been reflected in the steel industry. Earlier this week, Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, head of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT), said that investment is yet to be set, because some projects are in the analysis and cost projection stage.
This amount does not include projects in telecommunications and hydrocarbons--it only covers 105 sector commitments--but other projects such as the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, will require US$1 billion.
Also this week, the billionaire Carlos Slim, CEO of Carso, told government officials that if it wanted to achieve 5 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), greater infrastructure investment is required, along with more Mexican capital--public and private--as foreign capital currently accounts for 15 percent of total infrastructure.