The apparent consumption of steel products in Chile has reached 1.101 million mt during the first half of 2024, reaching the lowest level in the decade and declining by 6.7 percent from the same period in 2023.
According to the Chilean steel institute ICHA, the decline reflects the low activity of the civil construction sector in line with lower investments in housing and infrastructure.
According to ICHA CEO, Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, “the market conditions did not change from the previous quarter, with a lower performance of the economy, higher restrictions to access credit lines, high interest rates and high stocks of unsold housing units, remaining as the main problems to affect the industry."
For 2024, ICHA expects a seven percent decline of the apparent consumption from 2023 reaching 2.221 million mt, while for 2025, the institute expects a four percent increase from 2024 to 2.310 million mt.