Latin American rolled steel output dropped 2% in 2014

SAO PAULO (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Latin American Steel Association (ALACERO) indicates that the rolled steel output by Latin America and the Caribbean declined by 2% during 2014. The rolled steel production in the region totaled 56 million tons.

According to statistics, Brazil accounted for 44% of the region’s rolled steel output. Brazil’s rolled steel output during the year totaled 24.8 million tons. The second largest producer of rolled steel was Mexico with 17.3 million tons output. Mexican rolled steel production accounted for 31% of the regional output during 2014. The countries which reported significant increase in rolled steel output were: Dominican Republic (16%), Peru (12%), Colombia (9%), Mexico (6%) and Ecuador (6%). On the other hand, the output by Venezuela and Chile dropped by 30% and 15% respectively.

The region’s rolled steel consumption totaled 69.5 million tons during 2014, marginally higher by 1% when compared with 2013. Mexico topped the region with 12% growth in apparent rolled steel consumption during the year. The consumption by Mexico totaled 22.5 million tons. The other major consumers of rolled steel were: Colombia (4.2 million tons, up 21%), Peru (3.4 million tons, up 24%) and Dominican Republic (516,000 tons, up 36%). Meantime, the rolled steel usage by Venezuela dropped significantly by 36% in 2014. The consumption by Ecuador and Chile too dropped by 13% and 5% respectively.

The Latin American rolled steel imports totaled 22.9 million tons in 2014, 8.2% higher than the 2013 imports. Exports inched higher by 0.7% to 8.5 million tons during the year.