Crude steel production in Latin American countries, excluding Brazil, declined in July on an annual basis, with Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile reporting the highest reductions.
Overall, the Latin American region witnessed a decline of 6.1pc in steel production, with the region’s output falling to 3.12mn mt in July from 3.32mn mt during the same month last year, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
Brazil was the only LatAm country that saw an increase in steel production last month. The South American country’s crude steel output rose by 3.5pc to 2.59mn mt in July, from 2.50mn mt produced during the same month last year, worldsteel indicated.
On the other hand, Mexico the second-largest crude steel producer in the region witnessed a decline of 22.6pc with steel output falling to 1.15mn mt in July, from 1.48mn mt in the same month of 2019.
Argentina’s steel output decreased by 22.2pc to 325,000mt in July from 418,000mt produced in the same month last year, while Colombia’s steel output fell by 30.5pc to 85,000mt, from 122,000mt during the same period under comparison.
Chile’s crude steel output also reduced by 37.8pc to 65,000mt in July 2020, from 104,000mt in July 2019. Crude steel production in Peru fell by 71.2pc to 30,000mt in July, from 104,000mt in the same month last year while Ecuador’s steel output declined by 62.3pc to 20,000mt from 53,000mt during the same period under comparison.