[Ferro-Alloys.com] 

According to the Latin American Iron and Steel Association (Al acero), Latin American crude steel production reached 55.6 million tons in 2020, down 8.4% from the same period last year. Countries performed unevenly, with Chile performing best, with crude steel production rising 2.1% to 1.2 million tons from a year earlier, while Peru’s crude steel production fell the most, down 40.6% to 732000 tons.  Finished steel production in Latin America fell 9.7% to 46.3 million tons in 2020, with Argentina, Mexico and Brazil falling sharply. The region’s production of finished steel in 2020 is close to that of 2003, but far from the highest output of 57.5 million tons in 2013. 

Al acero said the apparent steel consumption in the region rose 6% to 5.5 million tons in November 2020, the best level since October 2019, reflecting the region’s economic improvement and is expected to perform well in the first quarter of 2021. Al acero claimed that the region’s economic recovery must be further advanced through private and foreign investment, reduction of tax and logistics costs, stimulation of infrastructure development and upgrading of value chains.