Brazil steel output, imports fall in August

Brazil's steel output, domestic sales and imports all fell in August, led by a steep drop in slab production because of the US' doubling of steel import tariffs.

• Crude steel production in August dropped by 4.6pc on the year to 2.86mn metric tonnes (t), industry chamber Instituto Aço Brasil said. The country produced almost 22.2mn t of crude steel from January-August, 1.5pc less than a year earlier.
• Most of the decline is tied to a 21pc cut in slab output to 591,000t in August from the same month in 2024. Slab is a semi-finished steel product used in rolling mills. The US' 50pc tariff on all imported steel, effective 4 June, disrupted the slab trade in Brazil, its primary slab supplier.
• Brazilian steelmakers have pivoted their slab exports to other markets in Latin America. Slab exports rose to 687,985t in August from 662,715t a year before.
• Brazil's steel exports also rose on the year by 4pc to around 860,700t in August.
• Rolled steel production fell by 5.5pc on the year to 1.98mn t. Domestic sales across rolled steel products dropped to 1.8mn t in August from 1.93mn t a year earlier.
• Steel imports declined by 24pc to 491,055t from a year earlier. Imports accounted for 16pc of the market, compared with 20pc a year earlier.

By Isabel Filgueiras