Brazil’s Metallurgy Giant Usiminas Ships Overseas 33% of Its Production

The Usiminas metallurgy group turned 33% of its 2006 steel plate and sheet production to the foreign market, according to the marketing director for the company, Sérgio Leite.

The main markets served by the company, which is Latin America’s largest metallurgic complex for steel plate production, are the United States, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Thailand, India, Argentina, Spain, Chile and Colombia.

In the Middle East, the company has exported directly to Morocco, Iran and Pakistan. Of the three, only Morocco is an Arab country. "Usiminas/Cosipa follows closely the market opportunities in every region of the world, but our competitive advantages are more evident in the Americas, which can be observed from the share of Nafta and South American countries in our total exports," Leite told ANBA via email.

Nevertheless, he stressed that the company is present in the Arab world in an indirect manner, through Brazilian products that use steel as their raw material, especially pipes for construction of gas and oil pipelines, and vehicles.

For the sake of illustration, the group produced 6.6 million tons of raw steel during the first nine months this year. Overall, according to the Iron and Steel Sector Association (IBS), Brazil produced 22.8 million tons in the period.

The company produced 5.9 million tons of steel plates. Total sales, including domestic and foreign market sales, amounted to 6 million tons up until September, 2 million tons of which were exported, 35% more than during the same period last year.

For next year, the company forecasts an 8% increase in demand for steel plates, mostly due to internal factors – such as high credit volumes in the country, interest rate reduction and stable inflation – which should encourage consumption. Increases are also expected in public and private investments in petroleum, natural gas, mining, highways, and metallurgy itself.

According to the group’s press office, Usiminas invested 365 million reais (US$ 169.2 million) in maintenance, technological updating and environmental protection equipment for its plants up until September this year. Until 2010, the group forecasts investments worth 4 billion reais (US$ 1.8 billion) in its business.

The conglomerate’s business has yielded revenues of 9.1 billion reais (US$ 4.2 billion) from January until September this year, and a net profit of 1.8 billion reais (US$ 834.4 billion). The Usiminas group controls or shares capital in 16 companies in the sectors of metallurgy, logistics, stamping, capital goods, distribution and services. These companies employ 15,000 people.

Among others, Usiminas controls Usina Siderúrgica Intendente Câmara, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and Companhia Siderúrgica Paulista (Cosipa).

The group is active in various sectors, such as construction of train wagons, through Usiminas Mecânica, and manufacturing of truck bodies, through Usiparts.

In partnership with the Argentine group Techint, Usiminas also participates in the Ternium group, which controls metallurgy companies in Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico.

These companies employ more than 18,000 people. Established as a state-owned company in the 1950s, Usiminas was privatized in the 1990s.

Anba – www.anba.com.br

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Shout of the Excluded Celebrates 10 Years of Protest

The demonstrations at the 11th Shout of the Excluded March, with this year’s  theme ...

Lula Announces Brazil Will Reach 5-Year-Plan Target One Year Ahead of Schedule

Brazil expects to achieve the trade flow target set in the 2004-2007 Multiannual Plan ...

Sunny Sounds of Brazil’s Daniela

Singing at Central Park’s Summerstage in New York, Daniela Mercury kept the energy level ...

More Accidents But Less Deaths on Brazil’s Highways at New Year’s

There were 40.54% fewer deaths and 9.7% fewer injuries on Brazil’s federal highways this ...

Brazil Discusses the Rough Way to Sustainable Development

“When conflicts don’t arise, it’s because the government’s policy had no effect. For this ...

650 Brazilian College Students Just Arrived in the US for Brazil-US Exchange Program

Hundreds of Brazilian students have arrived in the United States this past week starting ...

Bank Workers in Brazil Enter Second Week of Strike

The bank worker strike which began eight days ago looks like it will continue. ...

Japan Ships Back to Brazil Over 300,000 Dekaseguis

Japan is planning to combat unemployment by sending back to their countries of origin ...

Brazil Tells Bolivia It Will Not Accept Any Gas Price Increase

The president of Petrobras, José Sérgio Gabrielli, says that Brazil will respect Bolivia’s decision ...

Brazil’s Debt Breaks the 1 Trillion Reais Barrier

Latin American stocks witnessed another collectively strong session, led by Brazil on optimism for ...