Brazilian steel producers have passed on an increase of 20-25% in flat steel prices to automotive manufacturers in their latest annual contracts, according to Carlos Loureiro, president of national flat steel association Inda.
ArcelorMittal, Usiminas and CSN have all passed on the rises to carmakers, sometimes by as much as 25%.
An increase of this size had been expected, and was similar to price changes already faced by flat steel distributors for 2019.
"Considering all the price movements made by local mills, flat steel prices to distributors increased by around 25-28% in 2018," Loureiro said.
Fastmarkets' latest assessment of the domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Brazil was 2,600-2,700 Reais ($690-716) per tonne ex-works on January 4, stable from the previous month.
The price increase comes at a difficult time for Brazilian carmakers, with vehicle production in the country dropping by 16.80% year-on-year in December to 177,700 units, amid a weakening export market.
source: fastmarket |
