Companhia Siderúgica Nacional (CSN) expects global steel demand to grow 1.7pc in 2020.
The Brazilian steel producer and miner expects its business to fare well in 2020 and plans to focus on operational efficiency and cost reduction in its steel business to capitalize on Brazil’s accelerating demand for metal.
CSN had a challenging blast furnace repair this year, investing R$400mn ($97.3mn) in the project, as it tried improving its competitiveness. Once complete, daily production from the furnace is expected to increase to 9.2kt (9,200mt) from 7.2kt. The project will also result in cost savings through its sintering revamp.
Brazil remains a key market for CSN’s growth objective because flat steel consumption in the country is slated to grow 4.7pc in 2020. The company produced 24pc of all flat steel consumed in Brazil in 2019. Moreover, CSN expects its performance in 2020 to return to historical levels through normalizing unit costs and recovering domestic volume.
CSN expects its ore prices to remain high in 2020 and plans to focus on its Itabirito project, which presents opportunities for fast, low-risk expansion with limited capex.
US$1 = R$4.11 (as on Dec 13, 2019)