The apparent consumption of steel products in Chile has reached 2.371 million mt in 2024, 0.7 percent less than in 2023, according to the country’s steel institute, ICHA.
The institute added that, despite the decline, it is a better-than-expected result, as during the first half of 2024, there was a 6.7 decline from the same period in 2023, leading to a forecast of a 7 percent decline for the total of the year.
In 2024, the Chilean consumption of long steel products increased by 5.5 percent to 1.097 million mt, while the consumption of flat steel products declined by 4.9 percent to 1.249 million mt.
Reflecting the stoppage of steel production by Siderurgica Huachipato last year, in 2024 imports represented 75 percent of the country’s steel consumption, the highest ratio over the last ten years.
ICHA added that China alone supplied 65 percent of the total steel imported by Chile in 2024.
For 2025, ICHA forecasts an apparent steel consumption increasing from 2024 by 4.0 percent.