Cement News tagged: International
Vietnam’s cement market expands 6% but exports fall 14% in September
Vietnamese cement sales increased six per cent YoY but fell 14 per cent MoM to 4,252,989t in September 2024, according to the latest data by the VNCA, the country’s cement association. Of this total, VICEM reported sales of 1,238,930t, up four per cent YoY but down 17 per cent MoM, while other VNCA members saw similar trends to 864,059t in September 2024. Non-VNCA members reported a seven ...
200th anniversary of the Portland cement patent
200 years ago today, on 21 October 1824, the patent for Portland cement was granted to Joseph Aspdin (1778-1855), a bricklayer and inventor from Leeds, UK. The product was called Portland cement because of the resemblance of the hardened concrete to Portland stone, a limestone quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK. Portland cement, patented by Joseph Aspdin on 21 October 1824 ...
Peru’s cement market contracts 2% in September
Cement dispatches in Peru slipped by two per cent YoY to 1.06Mt in September 2024 from 1.081Mt in September 2023, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem. Of this total 0.967Mt was produced by Asocem members. Output by Asocem members remained stable at 0.997Mt in September 2024when compared with a production of 0.996Mt in the equivalent period of the previous year. Clinker prod...
Dalmia Bharat reports decline in profits
Dalmia Bharat Ltd has reported a 60.1 per cent decline in consolidated net profits to INR490m (US$5.8m) for the September quarter due to a decline in cement prices. The company had posted a net profit of INR1.23bn for the same period last year. In this period, the company has noted that operations are also down 2.09 per cent to INR3.08bn from INR3.15bn in the previous year. Sales volume ...
Argentina’s cement consumption down 18% in September
Cement demand in Argentina has fallen 18.4 per cent YoY to 912,689t in September 2024 from 1,118,070t, reports AFCP. This includes 429t of imports. Domestic production declined by 18.3 per cent YoY to 917,386t in September 2024 from 1,122,528t in the year-ago period. Of this total 5127t were exported, up 15 per cent from 4458t in September 2023. January- September 2024 In the first nine ...
Cement prices in Niger expected to see significant drop
Cement in Niger is expected to be sold at significantly lower prices following the signing of an order determining the special tax regime applicable to importing, producing and marketing CEM II 32.5 grey cement. The order was signed by Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani, president of the country's National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, on 14 October 2024 and includes a tot...
UltraTech Cement expands capacity to 156Mta
UltraTech Cement , the cement flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has announced the completion of a significant capacity expansion, bringing its total cement production capacity to 156.06Mta. This addition forms part of the company's broader 22.6Mta capacity expansion plan, originally announced in June 2022. With this development, UltraTech solidifies its position as the third-largest ceme...
Pakistan producers expect mixed results in 1QFY24-25
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed cement firms have yet to start posting their financial results for 1QFY24-25. However, Topline Pakistan Research believes that its Cement Universe (comprising Lucky Cement, Kohat Cement, DG Khan Cement , Maple Leaf Cement and Fauji Cement Co Ltd – the country's top five cement producers) is expected to post profitability of PKR13.3bn in the first q...
US cement sales continue to slide in July
Total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the US and Puerto Rico amounted to 9.286Mt in July, down 2.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from the 9.338Mt recorded in July 2023. Unfavourable weather—including extreme heat for west and east coasts, the third wettest July on record and the earliest recorded category 5 hurricane—has dragged on cement demand. Excluding for...
Lingering weakness for Swiss cement sales
Cement deliveries in Switzerland declined 3.7 per cent to 914,625t in the third quarter of 2024, down from 950,101t in the same quarter of 2023. According to Cemsuisse, the sluggish economic recovery is dragging on cement demand. However, while cement volumes are continuing to decline, they are doing so at a significantly slower pace. Sales contracted 8.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2024...
Lower interest rates to benefit construction (USA)
Ed Sullivan, the chief economist and senior vice president of market intelligence for the Portland Cement Association (PCA), representing the USA's cement manufacturers, says the Federal Reserve's recent move to lower interest rates, coupled with an ease in inflation, signals a signicant retreat by the end of next year. This should all benefit construction activity. At PCA's annual fall meetin...
Princeton University study uses human bones as model for strengthening cement
Inspired by the structure of human bone, researchers at Princeton University have developed a new cement-based material that is 5.6 times more damage-resistant than conventional alternatives. This breakthrough, detailed in a September 10 article in 'Advanced Materials', offers a significant improvement in the durability of cement-based materials commonly used in construction. Led by Reza...
Dandot Cement releases financial statement
Dandot Cement Company Ltd has issued its 44th Annual Report and audited financial statements for the year ending 30 June, 2024. For the year under review, the company produced 182,701t of clinker, 173,740t of cement and 172,012t of sales. The company recorded gross sales of PKR3.44bn (US$12.39m) and net sales of PKR2.46bn, both compared to PKRNil the year previous. The net pro...
Indian cement industry growth expected to slow in FY24-25
India's cement industry is projected to experience a slower growth rate of 7-8 per cent this fiscal year, reaching 475Mt, according to a Crisil report. This marks a slowdown from the double-digit growth recorded in the last two financial years. The first half of FY24-25 saw modest growth of just three per cent, attributed to a prolonged heatwave and labour shortages due to general elections. ...
Cementera Cruz Azul workers request local government intervention
Cementera Cruz Azul (Mexico) has been inoperative for two years. Cruz Azul cooperative members (workers, retirees and associates) have requested that the government of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico) mediate in the conflict that has kept the plant inoperative. Secretary Olivares Reyna went to the plant to search for a solution with the workers. The official expressed interest in finding a solu...
BDEAC funds expansion of EGIN SA's cement production in Cameroon
The Development Bank of the Central African States (BDEAC) has announced in its 2023 annual report that it is financing the expansion of Entreprise Générale Industrielle SA (EGIN SA) , a key Cameroonian cement manufacturer. The project will increase EGIN SA's production capacity at its Douala plant from 200,000-500,000tpa. This expansion, valued at XAF 19bn (US$31.7m), will help meet the g...