South American crude steel production climbed higher in May

By  Paul Ploumis 24 Jun 2015  Last updated at  05:45:39 GMT

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): According to the recent data published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by South American countries edged higher marginally during the month of May this year. The total monthly output increased by 0.6% to 3.829 Million tonnes.

 

The total crude steel production by Argentina during May was 411,000 tonnes, down 14.9% than the May 2014 production of 483,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.982 Million tonnes of crude steel, rising by 3.8% when compared to 2.873 Million tonnes production achieved during May last year. The Chilean May crude steel production rebounded 8% from 79,000 tonnes in May ‘14 to 85,000 tonnes in May this year. The total crude steel production by Colombia plunged 11.6% to 100,000 tonnes in May this year.

 

Ecuador’s crude steel declined by 2.7% on year-on-year basis. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 55,000 tonnes in May this year, lower when matched with 57,000 tonnes during May last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output surged by over 7.7% during the month.

 

The crude steel output by Peru increased by 16% year-on-year. The crude steel output of Uruguay dropped 8.3% from 8,000 tonnes in May last year to 7,000 tonnes in Apr ‘15. Venezuelan production declined sharply by 19.9% year-on-year from 100,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes.

 

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first five months in 2015 in comparison with those during same period in 2014.

Country	5 months (2015)	5 months (2014)	% Change
Argentina	1,987	2,218	-10.4
Brazil	14,298	14,027	+1.9
Chile	442	469	-5.8
Colombia	449	498	-9.9
Ecuador	261	261	Nil
Paraguay	16	15	+3.7
Peru	489	455	+7.6
Uruguay	29	28	+3.5
Venezuela	602	642	-6.2

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes