US cement shipments decline 13.5% in April
Cement shipments in the United States declined by 13.5% in April compared to the same month in 2010, according to preliminary data released by the US Geological Survey.
This was only the third monthly decline in 14 months, and is likely to have been caused by the bad weather in certain regions of the US, a strong base of comparison with April 2010 (8.8% increase) and there being one less working day in April 2011 than April 2010, according to analysts at Jefferies.
The steepest monthly declines were seen in Minnesota (-41.0%), Michigan (-39.1%), Maine (-36.7%), Missouri (-36.6%) and South Dakota (-32.6%). Amongst the larger states, shipments declined in April in Michigan (-39%), Georgia (-27%), New York (-27%), Arizona (-17%), Northern Texas (-15%), South Carolina (-6%) and Florida (-1%).
Growth was strongest in the District of Colombia (78.9%), northern California (18.5%), Hawaii (10.8%), Colorado (9.2%) and southern California (3.9%). TXI, HeidelbergCement and Cemex stand to benefit most from the strengthening markers, especially California.
Over the first four months of this year, cement shipments were 2.6% lower than in January-April 2010.
Published under Cement News
