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.
