Ternium Mexico’s shipments slip but upturn expected

Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.

The Latin American steelmaker, based in Luxembourg, said in its Q1 earnings report on Thursday that steel shipments in its primary market, Mexico, remained above the 2-million-metric-ton mark in Q1.

However, a 2% sequential decline in Ternium Mexico’s shipments was primarily due to the negative impact of temporary destocking in the country’s commercial steel market, according to the company. This decline was largely offset by robust demand from industrial customers.

Ternium expects Mexico’s steel market to remain robust, fueled by the “intensifying” reshoring or nearshoring of manufacturing, particularly in the northern region of the country. Ternium reported that the home appliance and electric motors sectors are facing headwinds from inflation in the US, but that the automotive market is solid.

As a result, the company expects to see an increase in shipments in the current quarter.

All told, Ternium SA’s sales jumped 32% year over year to $4.78 billion. At the same time, net income rose just 2% to $491 million. Companywide, steel shipments of 3.89 million mt were up 27% y/y.

More than half of its Q1 shipments were in Mexico (53.4%), followed by Brazil (23.7%), the Southern Region (9.5%—mainly Argentina), the US (8%), Colombia (4%), and other countries (1%).

Brazil

Ternium noted that the consolidation of Usiminas added $1.1 billion in sales and 1 million mt in shipments over the year-ago period. The company fully consolidated the Brazilian steelmaker and miner’s results in July 2023.

Additionally, Ternium Brasil experienced an unplanned outage at one of its blast furnaces at the end of Q1. Slab production has been temporarily disrupted, the company said, and repairs are ongoing.

The Brazilian market is currently experiencing an influx of what Ternium says are unfairly traded imports, most of which are coming from China. Brazil has raised tariffs on imports as a result. While this is a “first step in the right direction,” CEO Maximo Vedoya said on an earnings conference call on Thursday that he’s not sure it will be enough to combat the unfair trade practices.