Steel export volumes from Latin America to the US declined in February, with the region losing ground to Asian producers, according to US Census Bureau data.
VOLUME DOWN
Steel exports from the region totaled 667,643t, down 4.42% from 698,580t in the same month of 2014. Brazil saw the largest drop, with exports sliding 7.23% year-on-year to 411,921t from 444,037t. Meanwhile, Mexican exports dipped 4.36% to 224,897t.
Brazil was the world's second biggest exporter of steel to the US behind South Korea, with Mexico sixth behind Canada, Russia and China.
The declines come despite growing Latin American steel production, with World Steel Association figures showing total output rising to 7.36Mt in January-February from 7.06Mt in the same period of 2014.
Figures from Brazilian steel industry association IABr showed a 5.1% increase in the country's output to 5.65Mt in the same period.
VALUE UP
Despite lower volumes, the value of the region's exports increased to US$499mn from US$487mn, with Brazil's decline to US$226mn from US$243mn more than offset by an increase to US$225mn from US$217mn for Mexico and Argentina's US$39.9mn, up from US$21.0mn.
By value, Brazil was the world's fifth biggest exporter of steel to the US behind Canada, South Korea, China and Japan, with Mexico sixth.
ASIAN COMPETITION
The region's 4.42% drop in steel export volumes comes despite an increase in global exports to the US to 3.25Mt from 2.98Mt in February, with Latin America losing ground to lower cost Asian producers.
In particular, China's exports increased 50% year-on-year to 240,212t and top-ranked South Korea's exports rose to 436,382t from 352,993t, while Taiwan also saw a substantial increase to 91,698t.
The news in terms of export values for the region is not positive either. While Latin American exports increased in value by 2.46%, the value of global steel exports to the US increased 12.6% in the period.
Again, Asian exporters saw some of the steepest gains, with China's exports up 48.8% to US$238mn, South Korea's increasing 19.7% to US$355mn and Taiwan's exports climbing 58.2% to US$107mn.
Source: Busness News Americas
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