Latin American steel imports jumped to 6.1 million mt in the first quarter, up 20% from the 5.1 million mt imported in the year-ago quarter, Alacero, the region's steel association, said Tuesday.
Imports of rolled steel currently represent 34% of the region's consumption, "which generates disincentives to the local industry, increasing commercial frictions and threats [to] skilled sources of labor," the group said.
Surging imports are feeding Latin America's growth in steel use, which rose 5% in Q1 to 17.8 million mt, mainly driven by Peru, up 24%; Colombia, up 17%; and Mexico, up 12%. Steel use decreased 13% in Argentina 3% in Brazil.
The region's production of rolled steel increased 2% in Q1 to 14.1 million mt, of which Brazil accounted for 6.6 million mt -- 46% of the total. Crude steel production dropped 2% to 16 million mt, with more than half -- 8.4 million mt -- from Brazil.
Preliminary information for April indicated both rolled and crude steel outputs were flat compared with April 2014, totaling 4.8 million mt and 5.5 million mt, respectively.
Alacero's figures include data from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
Source: Platts
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