Brazil steelmaker Gerdau cannot find US workers to expand production

SAO PAULO, Nov 22 (Reuters) – Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau SA, which has significant operations in the United States, said on Thursday that it wants to expand production in the United States but cannot find enough workers to fill jobs.

“Our main difficulty is finding workers,” said Gustavo Werneck, the chief executive officer, referring to its U.S. plants. “We struggle even to find drivers for our trucks.”

Werneck in a meeting with analysts added that he expects spreads, the difference between the cost of buying raw materials and selling the steel, to remain high in 2019. Gerdau said its spread in the United States reached 40 percent in 2018.

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Marcelo Rochabrun)