The Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) has reported that Latin America finished steel production (including stainless steel) has decreased one percent while the consumption has gone up one percent.
Between January and July 2014, Latin America produced 38 million tons of crude steel, which is in line with the same period of 2013. Brazil was the largest producer with 19.7 million tons and represented 52 percent of the regional output even though it showed a slight decline of one percent. During the same period the following countries showed the highest growth rates of crude steel production: Argentina (+11 percent), Ecuador (+10 percent), Mexico (+7 percent) and Peru (+ 4 percent). Venezuela and Chile, however, registered a decline of -43 percent and -19 percent, respectively.
Regional consumption of finished steel reached 40.5 million tons in Jan/Jul 2014 and registered a one percent growth. The largest increases in consumption in terms of volume and percentages can be observed in Mexico (14 percent), Colombia (14 percent) and Argentina (eight percent). Venezuela and Chile, similar to their decreases in production, have experienced sharp declines.