Latin American crude steel production fell by 8.4pc to 55.5mn mt in 2020, from 60.6mn mt in 2019 according to the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero).
Alacero noted in a release on Feb 11 that Chile achieved the best performance in the region producing 1.2mn mt of crude steel, up by 2.1pc in 2020 on an annual basis while Peru saw the steepest decline of 40.6pc to 732,000mt in the same period.
Finished steel production also fell in Latin America by 9.7pc to 46.3mn mt in 2020, from 51.2mn mt in 2019, due to lower production from Argentina, which decreased by 18.8pc to 3.5mn mt. Mexican finished steel production declined by 9.9pc to 15.8mn mt, and Brazil’s finished steel output fell by 3.7pc to 21.7mn mt, it said.
Latin American steel consumption increased by 6pc to 5.5mn mt in November 2020 on an annual basis, Alacero said without disclosing annual volume. The Association expects growth in steel consumption to continue through the first quarter of 2021 in Latin America.