Crude steel production in Latin America dropped by 34pc in April from the same month last year due to COVID-19 related shutdowns, according to the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero).
Crude steel output reached 3.5mn mt in April down from 5.3mn mt produced in April 2019.
Crude steel production will continue declining until Q3 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic, Alacero indicated in a statement on June 11 without disclosing the volume.
Rolled steel production decreased by 32pc to 2.9mn mt in April, Alacero said, adding that steel consumption during the year will drop by 16.5pc to 54mn mt due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
Crude steel production fell by 14pc to 18.2mn mt in the first four months of 2020 from 21.2mn mt produced in the same period last year.
In April and May seven blast furnaces across Latin America shut down their operations due to weak demand because of the pandemic, Alacero said without disclosing the names of the steelmakers that shut down their furnaces. Furthermore, the shutdowns represented a combined capacity loss of almost 7mn mt, which resulted in the current capacity utilization of 42pc across Latin America.