Mexico's apparent rebar consumption decreased 10.9 percent, year-over-year, in June to 303,000 metric tons (mt), the second-lowest volume in the past 18 months and the decline broke the consumption recovery of the previous two months, according to data from the Mexican Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero) reviewed by SteelOrbis.
In the past 12 months, consumption grew ninefold and decreased 3.1 percent in January of this year, 36.2 percent last March and the current decline.
Rebar production also decreased in June. The decline was 5.4 percent, year-over-year, to 317,000 mt. That production volume is the second-lowest in at least the past 30 months (since January 2022).
That June volume was perhaps impacted by the blockade by Congressman Napoléon Gómez Urrutia's Miners' Union of ArcelorMittal's facilities in the western city of Lázaro Cárdenas, which affected the supply of steel to ArcelorMittal's facilities in the central city of Celaya where it manufactures rebar from May 24 to July 19.
In the first half of the year, consumption decreased 6.9 percent to 1.96 million mt. Production decreased 11.1 percent to 1.99 million mt and exports plummeted 56.9 percent to 82,000 mt.
Industry data shows that in 2023, the leader in production was ArcelorMittal with 18.9 percent, followed by Ternium with 18.5 percent, DeAcero with 16.8 percent, Simec with 11.8 percent, Grupo Acerero with 11.6 percent, Gerdau Corsa with 8.1 percent, Tyasa with 6.1 percent, Suacero with 5.7 percent, among other participants.
The construction industry, according to Canacero, is the largest consumer of steel in the country.