Gerdau has shut down its operations in Argentina and Peru after the governments of both the nations declared a state of emergency to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The Brazilian steelmaker noted that shipments to its customers will be made according to their needs despite the suspended operations. The company has also shut down its special steel industrial operations in the US after the automotive industry, especially the big three carmakers, Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler suspended their manufacturing operations last week.
Furthermore, Gerdau postponed the announcement of its global capex plan and investment strategy citing market uncertainties arising from plant shut downs and suspensions across the world.
Some of the company’s operations were also impacted because of specific local restrictions in some of the Brazilian states to contain the spread of COVID-19, Gerdau indicated without specifying the impact of these suspension on its sales or volume
Gerdau’s crude steel production decreased to 12.45mn mt in 2019 from 15.34mn mt produced in the prior year.