crude steel productionone of the key indicators to illustrate the performance of economic activity, fell 3% monthly in October and 21.6% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, hot rolled production rose 5.6% month-on-month and fell 17.1% year-on-year.
The data was reported by the Chamber of the Steel Industry and reflects the difficulties that the manufacturing sector has in leaving the recession behind.
With a total of 359,600 tons, crude steel production decreased 3% in October compared to September. Among the reasons, the scheduled maintenance stoppage in the Blast Furnace of one of the companies in the sector was mentioned.
Besides, “The activities of the different segments of the economy continue with variations, with upward and downward movements, without a clear trend, despite seeing some signs of reactivation in the sectors linked to the energy value chain”indicated the entity.
Steel: activity in demanding sectors
Regarding the activity of the sectors demanding steel, Construction, after the increase in the previous month, showed a 1% drop in cement shipments. In addition, it marked a 20% drop compared to the same month of the previous year. In the accumulated of the year, the decrease is 26% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the automotive sector, October production showed an increase of 5% compared to September and a rise of 1% compared to the same month of the previous year.. When analyzing The accumulated of the first ten months of 2024 compared to 2023, a 20% drop in production is observed.
On the other hand, patents registered an increase of 1% compared to September and a growth of 5% compared to October of last year. However, in the accumulated of the first ten months of 2024, a decrease of 10% was recorded compared to the same period in 2023.
The agricultural machinery and implements sector, meanwhile, improves its prospects due to the rains. Trailer sales were down 11% compared to September and up 14% compared to October of last year.
Dispatch levels to geographic areas of energy activity remain stable, with favorable expectations for 2025.
In the white goods market, shipments to appliance manufacturers show some signs of recovery in month-on-month terms, although they are still below the levels recorded in 2023. This recent growth is driven by the increase in promotions and the return of options of financing.
Source: Ambito
