Mr Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter chairman of Gerdau said that it is working at less than 80% of installed capacity.

He added that the economic slowdown has crimped global and domestic demand for steel products and Brazil's steel industry reflected the impact.

Mr Andre Gerdau Johannpeter CEO of Gerdau said earlier this month that the company was operating at between 60% and 70% of capacity. With signals that demand is increasing, the he said that capacity utilization should climb in the second half of 2009.

Gerdau said earlier this month that it planned to keep several blast furnaces in the US operating - they had previously been expected to be shut down. In Brazil, Gerdau's Acominas unit will keep its number 2 blast furnace hot after the company shelved plans to shut it down for maintenance.

Mr Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter said that while the credit squeeze that sparked the slowdown has eased, investments in general remained suspended. He added that "For big companies, there's no lack of credit. When you stimulate consumption, the entire production chain has to adjust."

(Sourced from www.dowjones.com)