Colombian cement market expands 4% in November

Domestic dispatches of grey cement in Colombia advanced 4.3 per cent YoY to 1.065Mt in November 2017 from 1.021Mt, according to the latest data from DANE, the country’s statistics office. Increased volumes of cement were sold to the retail sector (+4.4 per cent) and ready-mix companies (+10.1 per cent).

Dispatches in the key markets of Antioquia and Bogotá advanced by 5.1 and 3.8 per cent, respectively, when compared with November 2017. Meta reported a 19.1 per cent rise in deliveries while Bolívar dispatches also saw a significant gain of 12.1 per cent over the period. Cesar noted a 4.3 per cent drop in dispatches, one of four regions that saw their markets contract. Atlántic and Magdalena also reported significant decreases of four and 3.3 per cent, respectively.

Cement production in the Latin American country rose 6.3 per cent to 1.094Mt in November 2018 from 1.029Mt in November 2017.

In the first 11 months of 2018 producers delivered 11.037Mt of cement to the market as off-take remained largely stable when compared with dispatches of 11.036Mt in the previous year’s equivalent period.

Output reached 11.363Mt, up 0.7 per cent YoY from 11.279Mt in the 11M17.