According to the Chilean steel institute ICHA, the apparent consumption of steel products in Chile declined significantly during the first quarter of 2024, reaching 538,000 mt, a 14.5% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. This represents the lowest volume recorded in the past decade.

The institute attributes this drop primarily to the troubled domestic real estate market, where 114,000 housing units remain unsold. The apparent consumption of long products increased by 15.7% in Q1 2024, reflecting a poor base of comparison to Q1 2023, which saw the second-lowest volume in the last ten years.

For flat products, the apparent consumption in Q1 2024 reached 238,000 mt, a 33.6% decrease compared to Q1 2023 and the lowest volume in this decade. The institute expects a 1.5% decline in apparent steel consumption for the full year 2024 compared to 2023, reaching 2.353 million mt. However, a 1.6% increase to 2.390 million mt is projected for 2025.

The local steel industry has also been impacted by the battle over tariffs, with companies Feifan Chile and Magotteaux challenging provisional antidumping duties imposed on imports of steel bars and balls from China. The duties were enacted to reverse declines in sales of domestic steelmaker CSH and Moly-Cop.

Exports of the Chilean steel industry slipped 15.2% year-on-year to US$516mn FOB in Q1 2024, with imports from China still high. In 2023, apparent steel consumption in Chile reached 2.39Mt, of which 33% was locally manufactured steel and the rest imported, with China accounting for 65%.