Colombian cement demand up 17% in August

Colombia’s cement consumption saw a 17.2 per cent rise to 1.020Mt in August 2014 when compared with the same month of 2013, according to the national statistic office, Dane. Major growth was noted in Nariño (+84 per cent), Boyacá (+54.2 per cent), Magdalena (+46.2 per cent) and Huila (+37.6 per cent) although Cundinamarca and Antioquia also recorded substantial growth of 27.5 and 22.7 per cent, respectively.

In the year to date, cement demand rose 11.5 per cent YoY to 7.77Mta with Norte de Santander and Magdalena in particular noted considerable improvement (37.7 and 32.1 per cent, respectively). At the other end of the scale, Córdoba saw its dispatches contract by 26.8 per cent. Cement production during the eight-month period advanced 12.2 per cent YoY to 8.04Mta. Cement production rose 12.3 per cent YoY in August to 1.057Mt.