LatAm Finished Steel Trade Balance Recorded Deficit: ALACERO

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade statistics published by the Latin American Steel Association (ALACERO) suggests that regional steel trade continued to remain in deficit during the initial eleven months of 2018. However, the deficit decreased by 9% when compared to the corresponding eleven months in 2017.

During Jan-Nov ’18, Latin America imported 21.5 million tonnes (Mt) of finished steel products. This is significantly lower by 7.8% than the imported volume during the same period in 2017. It must be noted that the regional imports of finished steel had totaled 23.3 Mt between January and November in 2017.

Out of the above, the imports of flat products totaled 15.1 Mt, accounting for almost 70% of the total finished steel imports. Long products imports at 5.9 Mt corresponded to 27.3% of total imports. Seamless pipes represented 2.7% of the total imports.

The Latin American exports of finished steel reached 9.1 Mt during Jan-Nov ’18. This compares with 9.6 Mt of exports registered between January and November in 2017. Year-on-year, the exports were down by 5.3%. The flat products exports totaled 4 Mt, accounting for 44.4% of the total exports. Also, 41.8% and 13.8% of the exports corresponded to long products and seamless pipes.

The finished steel trade recorded deficit of 12.5 Mt, which is 9% lower than those reported during the same period a year before. Brazil emerged as the only country in the region to record surplus in finished steel trade. Meantime, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru recorded notable deficits.