South American Crude Steel Output Declined 4.2% in May '14

SACRAMENTO (Scrap Monster): According to the recent data published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by South American countries declined during the month of May this year.

The total crude steel production by Argentina during May was 483,000 tonnes, 7.6% higher than the May 2013 production of 449,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.878 Million tonnes of crude steel, down 4.3% when compared to 3.007 Million tonnes production achieved during May 2013. The Chilean May crude steel production went up by 5.2% from 95,000 tonnes in May ‘13 to 100,000 tonnes in May this year. The total crude steel production by Colombia increased by 2.8% to 115,000 tonnes in May this year.

Ecuador recorded decline in output year-on-year. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 45,000 tonnes in May this year,1.3% lower from 46,000 tonnes during May last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output soared higher by 38.6% during the month.

The crude steel output by Peru went higher by 5.1% year-on-year from 90,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes. The crude steel output of Uruguay surged higher by 35% to 10,000 tonnes. Venezuelan production slipped 37% year-on-year from 246,000 tonnes to 155,000 tonnes.

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first five months in 2014 in comparison with those during same period in 2013.

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes