Brazil's steel industry continues to invest after record high demand.
According to Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, head of the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABr), the country's steel sector has predicted a new investment cycle that could cost around US$8 billion from 2021 to 2025.
“Supply has normalized with steelmakers producing at a higher rate than before the pandemic started. In an interview with Valor, the head of Instituto Aço Brasil, Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, representing the steel producers, capacity utilization in the sector is at 73.5%.” said.
The steel industry in Brazil, the ninth largest steel industry in the world, is breathing easier as steel demand hit an eight-year high in the first half of this year. That is why Brazilian companies are already announcing their investments in the expansion and reconnection of factories that have been inactive since 2014.
From this perspective, the faults that caused furnaces, blast furnaces and product lines to be shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic seem to have been overcome.
Last week, the Gerdau group announced that it has invested R$6 million in facilities in Minas Gerais. Two months ago, the group announced the reactivation of one unit in Paraná and another special steel unit in São Paulo. Usiminas is considering installing a galvanized steel line in Cubatão (São Paulo). Mexican group Simec said it plans to double its rebar and wire rod mill in Pindamonhangaba (São Paulo) and expand the facility in Cariacica (Espírito Santo), costing a total of $350 million.
In March ArcelorMittal resumed a $350 million expansion project in Santa Catarina and will start operations at its long steel rolling mill in João Monlevade (Minas Gerais) in January, the mill has been ready since 2015 but remained idle due to lack of market.
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