Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-August period of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 46.2 million mt, up one percent as compared with the same period of 2013. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 1.8 million mt (+14%), in Colombia, up 459,000 mt (+20%) and in Argentina, up 171,000 mt (+5%), while finished steel consumption in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile decreased by 940,000 mt (-44%), 844,000 mt (-5%), 293,000 mt (-21%) and 88,000 mt (-5%) respectively, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first eight months of the current year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 9.8 million mt, increasing by 14 percent compared to January-August 2013. In the given period, all Latin American countries presented steel trade deficits, led by Mexico with an imbalance of 3.2 million mt. Other countries that showed significant deficits were Colombia (1.6 million mt), Peru (1 million mt) and Chile (1 million mt).
On the other hand, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 49.2 million mt in the January-September period of this year, in line with the same period of 2013. In September alone, crude steel production in the region amounted to 5.5 million mt, down two percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the first nine months of this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean decreased by one percent year on year, amounting to 42 million mt.