US Geological Survey preliminary estimates indicated that US cement shipments in May 2010 were 1.5% higher than in May 2009. This is a smaller increase than analysts at Jefferies International had expected. May was the third successive month in which consumption was higher than in the same month in the previous year, after 45 months of continual decline between May 2006 and February 2010. However, the rate of increase slowed significantly from the 8.7% increase in April. There was a marked divergence between states in the trend in May’s cement shipments. States in the South East generally reported increasing shipments, whereas substantial declines were reported in states in the West and around the Great Lakes. The companies under coverage by Jefferies International have a greater concentration of their operations in the states where cement demand increased in May. Based on where the companies operate, the May data is in our view good news for Holcim, Lafarge and Titan Published under Cement News