By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)
November 18, 2015 01:09:46 PM
The Latin American structural steel imports from China increased by 5% during the first nine months of the current year, says ALACERO data.Latin American imports of Chinese steel rose 5%
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) suggests that steel imports by the region from China rose by 5% during the initial nine months of the year. The monthly imports during Sep ’15 too have increased by 5% year-on-year.

As per data, the structural steel imports from China during the month of September alone totaled 642,000 tons, higher by 5% when compared with the imports of 610,000 tons during September last year. The cumulative steel imports during the nine-month period from January to September this year totaled 6.3 million tons. The steel imports during this period have registered an increase of 5% over the previous year. The imports during Jan-Sep ’14 by the region had totaled just less than 6 million tons.

Meantime, the Chinese exports of structural steel during the initial nine-month period of 2015 totaled 75.8 million tons. The exports rose significantly by nearly 29% when compared with the same period last year. The largest export destination for Chinese steel was South Korea. South Korea imported 9.8 million tons, thereby accounting for 13% of the total Chinese structural steel exports. In second place was Vietnam with imports of 7.2 million tons. The Latin American share of Chinese structural steel exports stood at 8.4% during this period.

Among Latin American countries, Central American region was the largest importer of Chinese steel. The region accounted for 18% of the total Latin American imports. In second and third place was Brazil and Chile with 15% and 14% import share respectively. Product wise, laminated steel was the largest imported item from China. The laminated steel imports from China accounted for nearly 60% of the Chinese steel exports to Latin America during the nine-month period from January to September this year.