Latin American crude steel production rose by 1.7pc to 4.9mn mt in October on an annual basis, according to the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero). Production from blast furnaces was up 4.8pc to 2.5mn mt in October against September while output from electric furnaces rose by 10.2pc to 2.5mn mt.
Latin American seamless pipe production, flat and long steel output also increased by 26pc, 8.4pc, and 7.3pc, respectively, in October from a year ago, Alacero said without disclosing volume. Rolled steel output also climbed by 2.6pc to 4.4mn mt in the same period under comparison.
Steel consumption returned to pre-pandemic levels in September, standing at 5.02mn mt, up by 6.4pc compared to August with better demand from Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. However, consumption fell by 13.9pc to 14.2mn mt in Q3 2020, from 16.5mn mt in Q3 2019, Alacero noted.
Latin American steel shipments accounted for 14.6pc of the region’s steel output in September, which helped to reduce the trade deficit, while imports made up 27.6pc of the region’s steel consumption in the same month.