Alacero sees positives in South America’s steel figures

The director of São Paulo-based steel trade association Alacero is portraying South America’s steel industry as having rebounded nicely from the effects of COVID-19 and restrictions in 2020.

Alejandro Wagner, Alacero’s director, also cites regional cooperation as a positive factor for the steel industry on the continent in a news release issued by the trade group in early December.

“The trade deficit [of South America] is likely to prove smaller and smaller, as cooperation between countries has been expanding further and the positive economic impact continues to be reflected in new high-quality jobs, which add to the over 1.2 million jobs, between direct and indirect, that our industry already generates in Latin America,” states Wagner.

Alacero says raw steel output in August increased by 2.3 percent compared with the month before, although it recorded a slight setback in September.

Figures from the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) show a slight rebound in South American October output. The 4.0 million metric tons produced on the continent in October rose by 2.5 percent from the 3.9 million tons of output in September.

Year to date through October, Worldsteel has South American output growing by 22.6 percent compared with the first 10 months of 2020. The figure for Brazil in the same time frame is even more encouraging, with Alacero and Worldsteel showing 30.3 percent year-on-year growth.

“It is fundamental to highlight the importance of promoting the working together of the countries in the region to continue achieving more and better results,” says Wagner. “The numbers show it makes sense to promote coordinated policies and decisions,” he adds.

Alacero, which was founded in 1959, describes itself as an association “that brings together the Latin American steel value chain.” It is comprised of more than 60 steel producing and related companies with a combined 60 million tons of output and a combined employment figure of some 1.2 million people, according to Alacero.