Apparent steel consumption in Brazil is expected to grow by 3.50-4.50% during 2019, ArcelorMittal said in its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2018, published on Thursday February 7. This rate compared with a 7.30% increase reported in 2018.
The company, which is the largest steelmaker in the world, believes that the country's automotive and machinery industries will show slower growth during the year, but the construction sector should recover and report better figures annually for the first time since 2013, the report showed.Steel usage in Brazil was 20.57 million tonnes in 2018, 7.30% above the 19.17 million tonnes of the year before, according to national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil. But the figure for the year fell short of a previous estimate of 21.17 million tonnes.Flat steel consumption...