Rio de Janeiro – The Brazilian steel industry believes it will see a 2% drop in raw steel production by the end of 2015, to 33.2 million tons, from 33.8 million in 2014. Industry organization Instituto Aço Brasil said it will be the lowest output since 2010.
Shrinking imports and domestic sales are the culprits, said Instituto Aço Brasil CEO Marco Polo de Mello Lopes. The scenario led to 21,786 worker dismissals in 2014 and 2015 and to halted production at 40 units. “The gravity of this situation is unprecedented in the industry. in fact, there are no signs of domestic market recovery in sight.”
The institute’s Board of Directors chairman Benjamin Mário Baptista Filho stressed that the primary issue at the international level is excess capacity, since the industry is able to put out some 2.4 billion tons, with consumption standing at 1.7 billion tons. Besides, according to Lopes, projects underway could bring an additional 6 million tons, most of it in China.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
