International Cement Review articles tagged under : Market Reports
Less-troubled waters
After years of austerity, the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are adopting expansionary budgets as oil prices begin to recover, infrastructure spending ramps up and the cement sector looks forward to a brighter 2018. By Hettish Karmani, Ubhar Capital SAOC, Oman. As Dubai plays host to the Cemtech Middle East and Africa 2017 conference and exhibition, the emirate’s cons...
India’s turning point?
The July-September 2017 quarter saw the Indian cement market fare mildly better when compared with the general malaise of the past year. Has a turning point been reached? Meanwhile, government initiatives such as the...
Philippines: a clean bill of health
More than a year has passed since President Rodrigo R Duterte took office in the Philippines and the country’s cement market continues to see strong growth. However, incumbents face challenges in the form of increasi...
Mexico: a tough year ahead
The slowing housing sector and constraints to the public purse have impacted Mexican cement demand in the past two years. The year ahead will present further uncertainties as the country goes to the polls to elect a ...
Ready to serve
Africa leads the charge for recently-commissioned cement plants. Although orders may be down on previous years, there is a more diverse geographical spread of newly-completed cement facilities and ICR highlights some...
Gaining momentum in 2018?
The positive outlook predicted at the start of 2017 has not entirely materialised as emerging markets (EM) have failed to see the widespread recovery that was anticipated a year ago. However, momentum for a recovery ...
Gambia's turning point
Leaving behind a past of political unrest and financial mismanagement, Gambia is at the start of an exciting new chapter. Led by a new, democratically-elected government and witnessing an upturn in construction, the...
West Africa looks to exports
While lower oil prices, Ebola and civil unrest have impacted west African economies, the region’s cement market has continued to expand with further growth forecast for the next few years. However, as domestic produc...
From far-away lands
The United States of America has been the world’s largest cement importer by volume for decades. However, the Great Recession saw imports plummet and while they are currently picking up, progress is slow as they rema...
India: the long game?
As the slowdown in India’s key housing sector largely persists, hopes are on the government’s infrastructure plans to bolster domestic cement consumption and narrow the gap between demand and production capacity. Wh...
Egypt's juggling act
Despite the Egyptian government’s focus on infrastructure investment, the country’s cement producers have had a difficult year so far with energy prices rocketing, competition intensifying and a currency crisis play...
India: glimmers of hope
The Indian cement sector appears to have shrugged off the impact of demonetisation but 1QFY18 figures suggest recovery will be slow. However, confidence is starting to build on the back of a pick-up in demand from ru...
Turkey's time for growth
Turkish cement producers faced a challenging year in 2016 as geopolitical and domestic events impacted on the country’s economy. However, domestic cement demand potential remains sound and going forward, relatively ...
Germany's wave of success
With the German economy continuing its growth trend, these are good times for the country’s many cement producers. Housebuilding dominates demand as the population rises and construction investment remains strong. Th...
Signs of improvement
Following an abrupt fall in 2009 and a continued decline in subsequent years, the central European cement market picked up in 2014 and has since shown a modest but stable expansion in recent years. However, while pro...
East Africa: time to shine?
East Africa’s future appears significantly brighter as economic growth accelerates following the recent challenging years. Increased construction demand is expected to fuel cement consumption and producers are gearin...