The Chilean Steel Institute (Icha) expects apparent steel consumption of the country to increase by 28pc to around 3mn mt this year compared to 2020.
In the first half of the year, the institute reported a 27pc increase in steel usage to 1.66mn mt compared to H1 2020, the highest growth in four years.
Icha’s estimates are in line with the Latin American Steel Association’s (Alacero’s) steel consumption figures in Chile for January-May. Alacero had estimated the country’s consumption growth at 25.8pc for January-May against the same period last year.
Chile’s long products (steel bars and profiles) consumption reached 753,000mt in the first half of the year, up 12.4pc from the same period of 2020, Icha data indicated. The usage of bars increased by 12.2pc to 685,000mt and profiles rose by 14.9pc to 68,000mt during the same period due to a boost in consumption of these products by the construction industry. The apparent consumption of flat steel in H1 2021 increased by 42.3pc to 892,000mt against the same timeframe in 2020.
Icha expects apparent steel consumption in 2021 to be in the range of 3mn mt an expected increase of 28pc against 2020.