South America Light Gauge Steel Framing Market Outlook, 2030

The Light Gauge Steel Framing market in South America has experienced steady evolution over the past two decades, transitioning from a niche construction technology to a mainstream building solution. Manufacturing methods in South America primarily utilize three core technologies: roll-forming, press-braking, and automated punching. Roll-forming dominates the regional production landscape, with major facilities in São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Bogotá employing continuous roll-forming lines capable of producing various steel profiles including C-studs, U-tracks, and specialty sections. Press-braking is commonly used for custom components and lower-volume production runs, particularly in smaller markets like Ecuador and Uruguay.

Automated punching systems have gained traction in recent years, with leading manufacturers investing in CNC-controlled equipment to produce precise holes and notches required for electrical and plumbing integration. The use of prefab and modular framing systems has accelerated significantly, particularly in Brazil and Chile. Major developers are increasingly adopting factory-built wall panels and roof trusses to reduce construction time and improve quality control. Companies like Engepref in Brazil and Tecno Fast in Chile have established large-scale prefabrication facilities producing complete building modules for residential and commercial applications.

This trend has been supported by government housing programs that emphasize speed and cost-effectiveness in construction. National building codes covering LGSF vary significantly across South America, with some countries having comprehensive frameworks while others are still developing specific regulations. Brazil has the most advanced regulatory environment, with ABNT NBR standards covering steel framing design, installation, and performance requirements. The Brazilian standards address structural design, thermal performance, and fire safety requirements.

According to the research report "South America Light Gauge Steel framing Market Overview, 2030,", the South America Light Gauge Steel framing market was valued at more than USD 2.06 Billion in 2024. Electric Arc Furnace steel production plays a crucial role in the South American LGSF market, particularly in Brazil where companies like Gerdau operate extensive EAF facilities. These operations provide cost-effective raw materials while supporting sustainability objectives through scrap steel recycling. Argentina's EAF capacity has faced challenges due to economic instability, though recent investments suggest renewed growth.

Global steel companies like ArcelorMittal have strengthened their South American presence through acquisitions and partnerships with local fabricators. BlueScope Steel has established strategic partnerships with Brazilian distributors to access the LGSF market without direct manufacturing investments. European companies have acquired minority stakes in Argentine and Chilean LGSF manufacturers to gain seismic engineering expertise and regional market knowledge. Brazil's fragmented LGSF market has seen consolidation among smaller regional players, with larger manufacturers acquiring specialized companies to expand their geographic coverage and technical capabilities.

This includes acquisitions of prefab specialists by traditional steel fabricators to offer complete building system solutions. Joint ventures between South American manufacturers and North American/European technology providers have increased, focusing on transferring advanced automation and prefabrication technologies to meet growing demand for faster construction methods. Chilean companies have acquired manufacturing assets in Colombia and Peru to serve growing Andean markets, while Brazilian manufacturers have established partnerships in Argentina despite economic challenges.

These moves reflect companies' strategies to diversify geographic risk and access new growth markets. Brazil's Minha Casa Minha Vida housing program has substantially increased LGSF adoption, while Chile's education infrastructure modernization has driven school construction using steel framing. The e-commerce boom across the region has created significant demand for rapid warehouse construction using LGSF systems.

Market Drivers

• Urbanization and Infrastructure Development Programs: Increasing demand for lightweight and sustainable construction materials, coupled with rapid urbanization and industrialization, drives market growth. South America is experiencing significant urban growth with government infrastructure programs driving construction demand across countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. Brazil was the top performer in the Latin American construction market by a significant margin in recent years. The region's growing middle class and urban migration patterns create substantial housing and commercial building requirements, making light gauge steel framing an attractive solution for efficient construction.
• Economic Growth and Construction Market Expansion: Growth during the historical period is a result of factors such as industrialization and urbanization, fluctuations in the housing market. The South American construction industry is benefiting from economic recovery and increased investment in both residential and commercial projects. Countries in the region are experiencing renewed confidence in construction markets, driven by commodity exports and foreign investment. Light gauge steel framing offers competitive advantages in terms of material costs, construction speed, and structural performance, making it increasingly attractive to developers seeking to maximize project efficiency.

Market Challenges

• Complex Regulatory Frameworks and Permitting Delays: the market faces challenges due to complex regulatory frameworks and lengthy permitting processes that can delay projects and increase costs. South American countries maintain diverse and often complicated building codes that were historically developed around traditional concrete and masonry construction methods. High capital requirements, complex regulatory frameworks, and political uncertainties present substantial hurdles for infrastructure projects. Steel framing systems face bureaucratic obstacles in obtaining approvals, with many jurisdictions lacking standardized evaluation criteria for light gauge steel construction.
• Traditional Construction Industry Resistance and Skills Gap: The South American construction industry remains heavily dominated by traditional concrete and masonry building methods, creating significant resistance to adopting steel framing technologies. Many construction companies lack the specialized skills and equipment required for light gauge steel installation, while established supply chains favor conventional materials. The initial investment required for worker training, specialized tools, and quality control systems presents financial barriers, particularly for smaller construction firms.

Market Trends

• Digital Transformation and BIM Adoption: the ongoing digital transformation, particularly with the adoption of Building Information Modeling, AI, and advanced construction technologies is reshaping the industry. South American construction companies are increasingly adopting digital design and project management tools to improve efficiency and reduce costs. BIM technology enables precise planning and coordination of steel framing systems, reducing material waste and construction errors. This digital transformation trend is particularly pronounced among larger construction firms and international developers operating in the region.
• Sustainability Focus and Green Building Initiatives: Stringent regulations to reduce carbon footprint and VOC emissions on steel manufacturing is becoming a major consideration for the steel industry. Environmental awareness is growing across South American markets, with governments and developers increasingly prioritizing sustainable construction practices. Light gauge steel framing offers recyclability advantages and reduced construction waste compared to traditional materials, aligning with emerging green building standards. Countries like Chile and Colombia are implementing environmental regulations that favor sustainable construction materials and energy-efficient building systems.

Wall bearing steel framing leads in South America because it delivers a cost effective, structurally simple, load carrying solution especially suited for low to mid rise residential and better material availability relative to more complex framing systems.

In South America, wall bearing steel framing dominates in revenue among structural types of light gauge steel framing due to a combination of structural, economic, regulatory, and market factors that align well to favor wall bearing over skeleton or long span systems. wall bearing framing where steel stud walls themselves carry the loads of floors and roofs is inherently simpler in design and construction than skeleton frames that require beams, columns, and more complex connections; that simplicity translates into lower labour, less specialized engineering, and faster project delivery, which are strong advantages in South American markets where labour costs and skilled labour availability are variable and where affordable housing and commercial buildings in small to medium scale are in great demand. Brazil data clearly shows wall bearing steel framing is the largest revenue segment in light gauge steel framing there in 2023, ahead of skeleton frames, implying the market’s structure favors the wall bearing type. The structural performance of wall bearing steel framing in many parts of wall bearing steel framing, when properly engineered, provides good load distribution for roofs and floors, and better integration of insulation, cladding, and finishes which help in thermal comfort, moisture control, and resistance to weather. In countries with moderate to high seismic risk, using wall bearing steel walls helps in distributing lateral loads and delivering predictable structural behaviour, when codes are followed. Third, regulatory and code acceptance is another key reason. National building codes in Brazil and some other countries in Latin America recognize and permit cold formed steel framing in wall bearing roles, which gives confidence to developers to use these systems.

Industrial end use is growing fastest in South America’s LGSF market because expanding manufacturing; warehousing and industrial developers are increasingly turning to LGSF to meet those requirements under rising sustainability, speed, and materials constraints.

In South America, the industrial sector leads LGSF growth because multiple forces align to make light gauge steel framing especially attractive for industrial buildings such as factories, warehouses, cold storage, logistics hubs, processing plants and other infrastructure adjacent facilities. First, there is strong growth in industrialization and expansion of manufacturing capacity in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, which drives demand for industrial buildings. These require large open spans, strong load bearing capacity, robust structural integrity, and resistance against environmental factors.

LGSF offers these benefits while allowing faster construction than heavy masonry or concrete, which reduces project lead times and enables industrial users to bring facilities online more quickly. Second, logistics and warehousing are growing rapidly, so developers and users need lightweight, durable roofs and wall systems that can be erected quickly in industrial zones. LGSF’s lighter weight reduces foundation costs and structural loads, which is particularly helpful in recently developed industrial parks or areas with less developed infrastructure.

Third, sustainability and green building criteria are becoming more important in industrial projects: many companies now require energy efficiency, lower carbon footprint, recyclable materials, less waste, and faster build cycles so operations can start sooner LGSF fits many of those needs, giving industrial users both performance and environmental compliance. Fourth, economic pressures favor systems that minimize labor intensive tasks LGSF, especially prefabricated or panelized, reduce onsite labor, reduce weather based delays, and improve productivity that becomes more critical in industrial projects with large area demands, where time lost is money lost.

C shaped steel profiles dominate and grow fastest in South America LGSF because they offer a highly efficient, cost effective, matching well with local material supply, labor skills, regulatory acceptance, and demand for faster, lighter, durable framing systems.

In South America, C shaped steel that is studs used in walls and partitions and joists used for floors or ceilings leads the product profile for light gauge steel framing due to a combination of structural, economic, regulatory, and market facing advantages. Structurally, C sections are cold formed steel profiles that provide good strength to weight ratio, stiffness, and load carrying ability especially for low to mid rise residential, commercial, agricultural or light industrial buildings which are common across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and other countries in the region.

The geometry of C shapes allows efficient support of wall loads, roof and floor loads without needing heavier beams or complex skeleton frames except in special long span cases. Because many projects in South America do not require very long spans or do not have huge span loading requirements, C sections suffice and are more economical. On the economic side, C shaped steel profiles are relatively easier to roll form from locally produced steel coil or sheet, often using galvanized or coated steel which is either produced domestically or imported at manageable cost. The simpler profiles require less material, less finishing, less specialized fabrication, which reduces cost.

Labor costs and the availability of contractors familiar with C studs/joists are higher relative to more specialized long span or skeleton steel framing systems, which means that adoption of C sections faces less resistance. Prefabrication or penalization of walls with C studs, or ceiling joists, allows faster construction, less waste, and better quality control, which appeals in many South American markets where construction timelines and cost overruns are significant concerns.

Building codes in many South American countries already include or allow for cold formed steel sections and load bearing wall systems using C studs, fire safety, wind load, seismic load standards are often easier to satisfy with C sections for smaller buildings because it is simpler to engineer and test wall bearing C stud systems than, say, long span steel or skeleton frames with many connections.

Wall Systems are leading in South America’s LGSF market because they offer a high impact combination of cost efficient structural support for low and mid rise buildings, speed of assembly, regulatory acceptance, suitability to local climates, and lower technical risk compared to more complex systems.

Wall systems are particularly well suited to the types of construction common in the region many residential and low or mid rise commercial builds where structural demands are moderate and spans are not too large. For such projects, walls framed with light gauge steel provide adequate strength, stability, and load bearing capacity, while being much faster to install than masonry or concrete block walls. They also reduce foundation loads owing to lighter weight, which helps in regions where foundation work is expensive or soil conditions are challenging.

Speed and labor cost savings are major advantages: wall systems often can be prefabricated or at least panelized offsite, enabling quicker onsite assembly, less skilled labor needed for formwork or block laying, and fewer delays due to weather. This is attractive in South America where delays, labor costs, and variable workforce skills are common constraints.

Studs, tracks, wall panels are simpler components than large spans or skeleton frames, steel coil, galvanized sheet, and cold‐formed profiles are increasingly produced locally or imported in manageable volumes, and many companies already have experience with walls. This means economies of scale, more competitive pricing, and less risk in sourcing than for more complex framing types.

Fourth, regulatory standards and building codes in many South American countries are more permissive or more familiar with wall systems in steel framing, many codes recognize cold formed steel wall bearing and non bearing walls, permits and approvals often emphasize simpler wall systems more than skeleton or long span systems which require more engineering, more specialized connections, more detailed structural analysis. This reduces risk, time and cost for developers choosing wall systems. Brazil is the largest market for Light Gauge Steel Framing (LGSF) in South America due to its expansive construction industry, rising demand for affordable housing, growing adoption of prefabricated building methods.

Brazil’s dominant position in the South American Light Gauge Steel Framing market stems from a combination of demographic pressure, urban growth, government housing initiatives, and evolving construction preferences that align well with the advantages offered by LGSF systems. As the largest country in South America by both population and economy, Brazil has a consistently high demand for residential, commercial, and public infrastructure. The ability to prefabricate LGSF components off-site and rapidly assemble them on-site fits perfectly with Brazil’s need for mass housing projects in expanding urban areas.

Additionally, the country has increasingly embraced industrialized and modular construction, supported by a growing ecosystem of manufacturers, suppliers, and builders who specialize in steel frame systems. Companies such as Sicla Brasil and others have played a critical role in mainstreaming cold-formed steel technologies, offering precision-fabricated steel profiles and systemized panel kits that reduce construction errors and time. Brazil has a relatively mature regulatory framework for steel construction, including national technical standards for LGSF, which boosts confidence among architects, engineers, and developers.

Institutional bodies like the CBCA have also been instrumental in educating the market, promoting best practices, and facilitating innovation in steel framing technologies. The shift toward sustainable construction has further strengthened Brazil’s position in the LGSF space, as light gauge steel is recyclable, minimizes site waste, and can be combined with energy-efficient insulation systems to meet green building goals.

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