Mexican domestic prices for steel beam IPR (ASTM-A6) jumped US$8/mt in the last week to return to the level of US$920/mt ex-mill. On the other hand, prices for steel beam I (ASTM-A36) dropped US$25/mt down to the level of US$893/mt ex-mill.
Despite the diverging trends for different types of beams, some producers have faced difficult financial results recently. According with financial sources, the Q1 report of the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) reflects that steel companies such as ICH, which produces structural shapes, beams, channels, flat bars and some angles, resented the effect of the strength of the peso against the dollar, resulting in lower demand for their products in countries to which they export. ICH was one of the 10 companies that topped the worst results for the first quarter of the BMV (down 32.2 percent). The opportunity for ICH improve its stake in the domestic market depends on the construction of industrial premises for the automotive sector, along with construction of electricity transmission towers.
Until February 2013, accumulated output of structural sections in Mexico was 70,150 tons (up 21.5 percent) against 57,740 tons of the same period of 2012. Exports increased 49.6 percent with 17,776 tons versus 11,884 tons last year, while imports dropped 39.2 percent with 63,466 tons compared to 104,391 tons in the same period of 2012. Meanwhile, apparent domestic consumption fell 22.9 percent to reach to 115,840 tons in January-February 2013 versus 150,247 in the same period of the last year.