Steel production in Argentina continues upward climb

Argentina March steel output up 6.4% on year.

Argentina's steel production continued to climb in March as manufacturing and construction soars amid surging economic growth.
Raw steel production in March totaled 471,000 metric tons, up 6.4% on the year and up 7% on the month, the steel chamber Acero reported. During the first quarter of the year, steel production was up 9.6% on the year at 1.3 million tons.
While the sector has enjoyed a sustained recovery, production still hasn't bounced back to the record levels seen in 2008 before the global financial crisis hit, Acero said.

Steel manufactures are currently operating at about 76% capacity. While still off the 2008 highs, the steel industry has benefited from white-hot economic growth. The Central Bank of Argentina expects the economy to grow at least 6% this year, following a 9.2% expansion in 2010.
Industrial output jumped 8.8% in March from the same month a year earlier, according to the national statistics institute, Indec. Soaring demand for cars and other vehicles has given the manufacturing sector a major boost.