South American steel output dips in September

Figures for September 2021 steel output from the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) indicate steel production in Brazil is level with August but output dropped slightly for all of South America.

Brazil produced approximately 3.1 million metric tons of steel in both September and August. Year to date, the 27.2 million metric tons made in the first three quarters of 2021 represents a 20.2 percent increase compared with the same timeframe in 2020.

For the entire continent, output slipped from 4 million metric tons in August to 3.9 million metric tons in September of this year. Year to date, however, the 34.1 million metric tons produced represents a 23.9 percent increase compared with the first nine months of 2020.

Globally, reduced output in China remains the most noteworthy feature of Worldsteel statistics in the second half of 2021. The 73.8 million metric tons of steel made in China this September represents a 21.2 percent drop in output compared with September 2020. That is an even more dramatic drop than the 13.2 percent reduction in August 2021 output compared with August 2020.

Industry analysts are citing sporadic regional energy and coal shortages as a leading culprit in the steel sector. Observers of the wider Chinese economy also are pointing to tighter credit in the construction sector and a long-predicted slowdown in apartment tower construction.

Activity in the steel absorbing high-rise apartment market has for several years outpaced the rate of household formation, and more recently even the rate of urbanization, in China, according to some observers.