US market improves in the 11M18

Total Portland and blended cement deliveries in the USA and Puerto Rico fell by 5.3 per cent YoY to 7.78Mt in November 2018, according to data by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois were the leading cement-consuming states, receiving 41 per cent of the shipments for the month.

Meanwhile, Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama were the leading states in terms of production. Total clinker output (excluding Puerto Rico) declined 5.4 per cent YoY to 6.4Mt.

Masonry cement shipments decreased 12.5 per cent to 172,000t in November 2018 when compared with November 2018.

Cement and clinker imports also slipped 7.9 per cent YoY to 1.1Mt for the month.

January-November 2018
Portland and blended cement shipments for the first ten months of 2018 reached 91.5Mt, an increase of 2.6 per cent YoY.

The masonry cement market remained steady and essentially unchanged at 2.26Mt, with consumption led by Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina and Tennessee. These states received around 57 per cent of the total shipments.

Clinker production totalled 70.4Mt for the 11M18, again essentially unchanged from the previous year.

Finally, cement and clinker imports for the period finished at 13.9Mt, a YoY increase of 9.9 per cent.