As Covid-19 spreads across the country, Mexico continues reopening the economy with the aim to achieve a state of ‘new normality’ by September. The opportunities and challenges this brings to the steel, metals and mining industry will be discussed on July 2 in MM Steelclub’s new webinar: An overview into the Steel, Metals and Mining Industry in Mexico as lockdown starts to be lifted.

With more than 150,000 confirmed cases and 18,000 deaths, the country is one of the hardest-hit by Covid19 in Latin America. However, it’s also one of the firsts in the region to ease lockdown restrictions, with a four-colour ‘traffic light’ scheme that indicates the activities that can be resumed in each state.

The scheme paints areas in red, orange, yellow or green, with red as the strictest lockdown and green as what the government calls a desired ‘new normality’. As of June 15, half of Mexico’s 32 states had been moved forward to orange while the rest remained in red.

But even in red areas, like Mexico City, car factories and mines have been allowed to resume production as long as they meet safety requirements. This is after lockdown restrictions prompted a historical year-on-year fall in industrial production in April: -29.3%, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The construction sector led the decline with a 38.4% decrease, followed by the manufacturing industry, with a 35.5% downturn. The fall for the mining sector was of 3.6%.

The Mexican government has been criticised for starting to reopen the economy in a time when Covid-19 active cases stand at a higher figure than they did when restrictions were imposed. But the president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has defended the importance of incentivising the economy to avoid job losses, which could reach a million due to the coronavirus crisis, he said last week. Mexico’s GDP is expected to drop 7.5% this year, according to the World Bank.

So what is the current state of the steel, metals and mining industry in Mexico and what are companies’ expectations for the rest of 2020? Experts in the field will provide their input in a 2-hour webinar that will include a questions-and-answers session. Attendees will also have networking opportunities in an exclusive event for steel, metals and mining professionals.

Join us on July 2 at 12.00 pm EDT and don’t forget to register to receive updated concerning MM Steelclub’s webinar: An overview into the Steel, Metals and Mining Industry in Mexico as lockdown starts to be lifted.