Latin American rolled steel output held steady during Jan-Apr ‘15

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 remained almost flat during the initial four-month period from January to April this year. The rolled steel production in the region totaled 18.6 million tons during this period.

According to statistics, Brazil accounted for 45% of the region’s rolled steel output. Brazil’s rolled steel output during the four-month period totaled 8.4 million tons. The second largest producer of rolled steel was Mexico with 5.8 million tons output. Mexican rolled steel production accounted for 31% of the regional output. The countries which reported significant increase in rolled steel output were: Peru (11%) and Ecuador (7%). On the other hand, the output by Argentina fell 9% from the previous year.

The region’s rolled steel consumption totaled 23.7 million tons during Jan-Apr ‘15, considerably higher by 4% when compared with 2014. Mexico topped the region with 13% growth in apparent rolled steel consumption during the year. The consumption by Mexico has increased by 947,000 tons. The other major countries which recorded significant increase in rolled steel consumption were: Peru (additional 177,000 tons, up 19%) and Chile (additional 93,000 tons, up 11%). Meantime, the rolled steel usage by Brazil dropped significantly by 4% during the four-month period in 2015.

The Latin American rolled steel imports totaled 8.1 million tons in Jan-Apr ‘15, 15% higher than the reported level of 7.1 million tons during Jan-Apr ‘14. Exports inched lower by 4% to 2.5 million tons during this period.