According to Argentina’s chamber of the steel industry, Acero Argentino (AA), the country’s crude steel production totaled 241,400 mt in March, against 323,600 mt in February.
Under the same comparative basis, the production of HRC increased by 83.1 percent to 123,100 mt, the production of CRC increased by 5.4 percent to 60,100 mt and the production of long products declined by 27.0 percent to 87,300 mt.
When compared to March 2023, the numbers show crude steel production declining by 41.5 percent, HRC production declining by 37.3 percent, CRC production declining by 51.7 percent and long products production declining by 56.5 percent.
According to AA, a six-day general strike declared by the UOM workers union has negatively impacted the crude steel production and the demand for steel products, resulting in the stoppage of production at the Acindar plants.
In the view of AA, the only sign of recovery comes from the energy sector, while civil construction, domestic appliances and packaging sectors remain in downtrend.
The agriculture machinery sector is not showing signs of recovery, even though there are good perspectives for the next crop of the heavy agriculture sector.