Latin American Steel Association Alacero announced that Latin America is still being affected by the COVID19 pandemic, presenting slightly more than a quarter of the cases and deaths worldwide. In an attempt to reduce the impact of the health crisis on the economy as much as possible, Latin American countries, each in its own way, are starting to reopen trade and resume activities even with the risk of an increase in the number of infections. In this context, the steel industry in Latin America has suffered one of the heaviest impacts on production reduction in the whole world. In June, the regional production of crude steel was 6.648 million tonnes, 3.6% less than in May. The total production of June 2020 is 29% lower than the same month of 2019 (5,174 million tonnes).
In Latin America, the total production of the semester was of 25,787 million tonnes, 19% lower than the same semester in 2019 (31,847 million tonnes). In comparison, globally, the total fell 5.4% in the semester, a number attenuated by China’s growth of 2.2%.
Consumption in Latin America rose in May (3,910 million tonnes), reflecting a 6% recovery when compared to April. Despite being 27% lower than May 2019, there was an increase in exports compared to imports which helped to reduce the deficit of the trade balance. Consumption was higher because it is being compared with the very low demand of April, but even so it shows that a slow recovery is taking place – although there is still a very long way to go. The year´s consumption from January to May showed a deficit of 3,686 million tonnes, 13% lower than the same period of 2019 (total 23,686 Mt).
The biggest recovery in consumption in May was reported in Brazil, with a rise of 20% when compared to April, even though it actually means a drop of 25% when compared to the same month of 2019 and of 13% in the semester’s total. The higher shrink in May was found in Mexico, where consumption fell 14% when compared to April, 23% when compared to May 2019 and 9% in terms of the total consumption between January and May.
Source: STEELGURU
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