Brazil’s construction companies are facing a shortage of steel products for their projects, according to a survey by the Brazilian Chamber of Civil Construction (CBIC).
The CBIC survey revealed that 84pc of the 206 respondents noted a shortage of steel products in the regions they operate, while 82.9pc said that the material has longer than usual delivery deadlines.
Moreover, around 39.3pc of the construction companies indicated that steel shipments were taking between 30-60 days, with 25.7pc seeing a 60-90 days timeframe for shipments.
This survey was released a week after the Brazilian steel association (IABR) said that there was no shortage of steel products or a hike in steel prices in the South American country.
Last week, IABR noted that by June last year, the steel industry was supplying the domestic steel market with production volumes that were higher than those seen in January and February 2020, before the pandemic affected steel supply and demand.
Brazil’s crude steel output rose by 3.8pc to 2.8mn mt in February, from 2.7mn mt produced in February 2020, according to IABR. Brazilian flat steel distributors’ sales rose by 9.8pc to 312,300mt in February, from 284,600mt in the same month the prior year, Brazil’s National Institute of Steel Distributors (Inda) said in a statement this week.