RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The supply of steel products on the domestic market is already at a normal level. According to the National Institute of Steel Distributors (Inda), steel sales fell 24% in July to 261,400 tons. However, from January to July, distributors sold 2.18 million tons, 18.9% more than in the same period of 2020, data released by Inda on Tuesday (24).
“Sales in July were worse than we imagined. This is mainly due to imports, which increased in this period. To get an idea, 211,310 tons were imported, almost the same amount that traders sold,” said Carlos Loureiro, executive president of Inda, stressing that imports increased by 181.9% in July.
According to him, daily sales in July were similar to 2015 to 2016, when the market was more desaquecida. Daily sales through the network were 12,400 tons. Last year, daily sales in July amounted to 15 thousand tons.
“We are already working with the prospect of stable sales this year. The numbers in the second half of 2020 were solid as we made sales to mill customers. We are going through the hangover. Our previous estimate was for sales growth of 5% to 6%.”
Steel purchases by distributors totaled 295,600 tons in July, down 6.6%. Year to date, the distribution network purchased 2.33 million tons, up 24.9%.
According to Inda, stocks in July amounted to 820,200 tons, down 1% from the same period in 2020. With this volume, the network has a turnover of 3.1 months, which is the normal turnover of distributors. “We have reached the historical level, next month, we should exceed the turnover of 3.2 months,” said Loureiro.
The Inda president pointed out that mills turn to foreign business as international prices remain high and the domestic market is supplied. According to Loureiro, Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), Usiminas, Gerdau, and ArcelorMittal have already shipped steel products in July. “This trend will increase in August, we will see surprises in export figures. There is a lot of material that should be booked this month.”
Loureiro added that CSN has sent material to its subsidiary in Portugal and uses its total zincate quota of 330,000 tons for the United States. “CSN has completed large export volumes of over 100,000 tons.