Chilean apparent steel consumption is expected to rise 1% year on year in 2018, the National Chamber of Commerce and Chilean steel association ICHA said Tuesday.
The apparent consumption is expected to reach 2.79 million mt in the year, ICHA said.
For 2019, however, the association foresees steel consumption increasing 7% compared with 2018, it said, totaling 3 million mt.
If ICHA's expectations happen, the Chilean market will have similar levels to 2014 and 2015, when it had steel consumption of 2.9 million mt.
Construction, along with mining, plays a key role in Chile's steel consumption, and the sector's performance has been impacting demand since 2016, particularly for long products.
Chile has two longs producers -- CAP Acero, whose finished bar and rebar capacity totals 720,000 mt/year, and Gerdau, which has a cumulative bar and rebar capacity of 470,000 mt/year.
The country also has several service centers focused on processing flat products for the construction, mining and industrial sectors.
