Mexico’s steel industry expects to increase steel consumption in the H2 2020 through demand from government projects like the Santa Lucia Airport, Dos Bocas oil refinery, and the Maya railway.
If demand increases, steel consumption could reach 21.6mn mt this year, which would decline by 27pc from 29.6mn mt achieved in 2019, Daniel Riojas De la Garza, deputy director of sales at Altos Hornos de México (Ahmsa), said during his participation in a webinar called “Mexico Steel, Metals and Mining: 3rd Virtual Conference.”
If the industry continues improving during H2, crude steel output could reach 16.5mn mt this year, down by 10.3pc from 18.4mn mt produced in 2019, he added.
Production in the steel, automotive, and construction industries has declined because of the pandemic. Mexico’s crude steel production dropped by 12.1pc to 1.4mn mt in April from 1.6mn mt during the same month a year ago, according to the latest figures released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
Mexican car production plummeted by 98.7pc to 3,722 units in April, down from 300,106 vehicles produced during the same month last year, while Mexico’s construction output dropped by 32.1pc during the same period because suspended infrastructure projects caused by the pandemic cleaved demand.