Mexican domestic steel beam IPR (ASTM-A6) prices dropped US$18/mt in the last two weeks to reach US$874/mt ex-mill. Meanwhile, the prices for steel beam I (ASTM-A36) fell US$10/mt to reach US$852 mt/ex-mill.
Demand for beams is slack right now, as construction activity slowed over the summer. Newly released statistics indicate the production value of the construction sector fell 4.1 percent in July over the same month of 2012, while the accumulated annual decline was 1.9 percent compared with the same period last year.
This fall in the first seven months of the year is due to a drop of 5 percent in civil engineering works, although there were increases of 3.5 percent in specialized jobs for construction.