LatAm Steel Consumption Down 9%

Latin American and Caribbean region’s finished steel consumption fell by 9% to 51.4 million metric tons during January to October this year, as per the latest figures released by the Latin American Iron and Steel Institute, ALACERO reported. According to ALACERO, Latin American and Caribbean region’s finished steel production also dropped by 6% to 42.4 million metric tons during the first ten months of this year. The region reported an annual deficit of 9.4 million metric tons in finished steel trade during January to October this year, down by almost one-fourth as compared to 2015. The largest finished steel trade deficit was recorded by Mexico (3.8 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.9 million mt), Chile (1.3 million mt) and Peru (1.3 million mt). The only country to register trade surplus during this period was Brazil at 2.9 million mt. Latin American and Caribbean region’s finished steel usage for the month of October totaled 6.2 million metric tons. The countries to record significant rise in finished steel consumption were Peru (up 200,000 mt, +9%), Mexico (up 179,000 mt, +1%) and Honduras (up 19,000 mt, +7%).