According to the Brazilian Steel Institute (Instituto Aço Brasil), Brazil produced 8.48 million tons of crude steel in the first quarter of 2025, up 2.8% year on year, with capacity utilization reaching 66.6%. 

Industry confidence continued to decline, with the Steel Industry Confidence Index (ICIA) dropping by 0.7% month on month to 31.6 points in April. 

Apparent steel consumption rose 13.3% to 1.68 million tons, driven mainly by imports. Domestic steel sales grew 8%, while semi-finished steel sales fell sharply by 36.5%. 

Steel exports increased 4.7% to 2.64 million tons, while imports rose 29.6% to 1.68 million tons, with China as the largest supplier.