Crude steel output in T&T, Guatemala, Cuba and El Salvador increased by 28.8 per cent year-on-year in November 2013, Steel First, a subscription-based metal bulletin reported.Steel First's Rodrigo Alonso in Mexico City wrote that "total output from the four nations reached 143,000 tonnes, up from 111,000 tonnes a year earlier".Alonso said he sourced his figures from the Latin American steel association, Alacero.T&T was the largest producer, with 59,000 tonnes of crude steel, an increase of three per cent year-on-year.
Guatemala was the next biggest crude steel producer, with 39,000 tonnes, up 24 per cent year-on-year.Cuba's output rose by 96 per cent over the same period to 33,000 tonnes, while El Salvador produced 12,000 tonnes, an increase of 109 per cent, Alacero said.As for finished steel output, Guatemala was the largest producer, with 57,000 tonnes–an increase of 36 per cent compared with the same month in 2012.
Costa Rica's output increased 28 per cent on the year to 45,000 tonnes while production in T&T was up by three per cent to 40,000 tonnes.Production in the Dominican Republic dropped by eight per cent year-on-year, to 37,000 tonnes.Cuba's production increased by 70 per cent to 13,000 tonnes, while El Salvador produced 4,000 tonnes of finished steel, up by three per cent.Alonso said Alacero's figures, some of which are estimates, do not include all the countries in the region.