Brazil’s Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional’s (CSN’s) total mining production declined by 20pc to 30.6mn mt in 2020, from 38.3mn mt in 2019.
The company’s slab output increased by 1.6pc to 3.55mn mt last year, from 3.49mn mt in 2019, tin plates production was flat at 3.37mn mt during the same period while its long steel production fell to 216,000mt from 223,000mt, the steelmaker said without disclosing its annual crude steel production volume on Feb 22.
In the fourth quarter, CSN’s mining production fell by 11.3pc to 7.80mn mt from 8.80mn mt produced in Q4 2019. Slab production fell by 2.7pc to 908,000mt from 934,000mt during the same period and tin plate output rose by 4pc to 879,000mt from 845,000mt. The steelmaker’s long steel production fell from 55,000mt in Q4 2020, from 61,000mt produced in the same prior-year quarter.
Sales
CSN’s total steel sales by volume in 2020 rose by 3pc to 4.64mn mt, from 4.52mn mt in 2019 on higher demand in the domestic market, especially in the second half of the year. The company’s iron ore sales, on the other hand, fell by 19pc to 31.1mn mt from 38.5mn mt during the same period.
CSN’s total steel sales in Q4 2020 rose by 10pc to 1.22mn mt, from 1.11mn mt in Q4 2019, due to the recovery of the domestic market resulting from the federal government’s stimulus, it said without disclosing further details. The company’s iron ore sales in Q4 2020 reached 8.6mn mt, down by 16pc from 10.3mn mt in the same quarter of 2019.
The Brazilian steelmaker invested BRL1.69bn in 2020 in its steel and mining units, down from BRL2.21bn invested in 2019.
Brazil’s crude steel production and domestic steel sales are expected to increase by 6.7pc to 33mn mt, and by 5.3pc to 20.3mn mt, respectively, in 2021. Steel consumption could also rise by 5.8pc to 22.4mn mt during the year, the Brazilian Steel Institute said in a statement on February 22.
($1=BRL5.42)