According to the latest data from the Chilean Steel Institute (ICHA), in the first quarter of this year, the country's apparent steel consumption was 681,000 tons, down by 16.1% from the same period of the previous year.

During this period, the consumption of long steel was 16.9% below from the first quarter of 2021; the consumption of flat steel fell by 16%, especially the thick plates fell sharply by 50.8%.

For the entire year 2022, ICHA expected a drop of between 12.6% and 30%, ranging from a minimum of 2.285 million tons to a maximum of 2.871 million tons.