Mexican domestic plate prices closed at US$860/mt ex-mill this week, reflecting a $6/mt decrease compared to the previous week.
In the case of rolled plate, prices reached US$787/mt ex-mill this week, $5/mt more than levels heard in the first week of March.
Sources expect unfair import prices to depress the Mexican plate market for the next few months, with additional influence from increased competitiveness between local producers commissioning new units such as the Phoenix Project of AHMSA, and Ternium's Pesquería project.
The markets that the new projects will focus on include the automotive industry;the oil sector, in which plate will be used in large offshore construction along with manufacturers of heavy equipment.
As a whole, the Mexican steel industry plans to invest US$12 billion over the next four years, with the creation of 20,000 direct jobs and 80,000 indirect jobs. These investments are focused precisely to encourage import substitution and industrial activity such as automotive, heavy equipment, appliance and railroad cars production, among others.