International Cement Review articles tagged under : Market Reports
Uncertain times
ICR reflects on the rollercoaster of 2020 and 2021 in terms of COVID-19 and its impact on global cement production, consumption and trade. It also looks ahead to 2022 and beyond as cement manufacturers juggle ongoing disruption from the pandemic, environmental commitments and escalating costs. Figure 1: global spread of COVID-19, December 2019-13 March 2020 As of 22 November 2021,...
Nigeria’s hamstrung potential
Rapid cement capacity build-up over the last two decades and further new additions on the way mean that by next year, Nigeria will have the second-largest installed capacity in Africa. However, while the country’s lo...
UK: Build, Build, Build
Backed by extensive infrastructure investment, the UK construction industry has made an impressive recovery from the pandemic. But all is not plain sailing as labour and material shortages continue to delay projects ...
Middle East: diversification is key
Following years of conflict, the potential for cement demand in the Middle East is huge. Add to this the drive by governments to develop and expand various industries to reduce their reliance on oil and gas revenues....
India’s cautious outlook
A contracted comparison base has helped push the Indian cement sector to a double-digit growth trajectory in 2021. However, there are a number of one-time factors that should be taken into account and further challen...
Turkey maintains its pace
The Turkish cement sector has experienced a challenging year on a number of levels. However, despite an increase in costs, the industry has managed to keep up the pace in terms of its contribution to the economy. Mea...
Germany: decarbonising the industry in a stable market
While the outlook for the German cement sector is expected to stay positive, all forces are now focussed towards achieving climate targets. With 2050 still far in the future, the industry is building on introducing c...
Europe: invest, divest, assess
ICR looks at how economies have fared across western, central and eastern Europe over 2020-21, and what action Europe’s leading cement producers are taking to not only recover from the pandemic but also prepare for t...
Pakistan’s promising prospects
Pakistan’s cement sector performed very well in the FY21, supported by government policies to assist construction activity in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Going forward local demand is expected to remain robust, ...
Poland: a pause on growth
The Polish cement market was only moderately affected by COVID-19 in 2020, but as the pandemic played out, the impact was felt most deeply in the 1Q21. An expected rebound in the latter half of 2021 is unlikely to ma...
India’s recovery derailed?
India’s 550Mta cement sector had hardly emerged from the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 when a second, more devastating wave dented future growth prospects. Initial estimates have projected a double-digit advan...
CO2: risk and opportunity for the global cement industry
Cement is at the forefront of the fight against climate change. Rather than succumb to the doom-mongers, we see this as a golden opportunity for the industry to embrace the decarbonisation challenge, contribute to so...
Peruvian cement prospects
Peru’s domestic cement market has been showing signs of recovery since the onset of COVID-19 and the local cement sector played an important role in helping to cushion the effects of the pandemic. The country’s cemen...
Brazil: striking the right balance
The Brazilian cement industry has contributed greatly to the country’s development, providing high-quality products in line with demanding sustainability requirements. As the industry adjusts to the impact of COVID-1...
South Korea’s shift to neutral
The rapid capacity build-up of South Korea’s cement industry over the 1980s-1990s came to a sudden end in 1997. Since then the sector has shifted its investment focus to the sustainable production of cement, supporte...
Can Mexico’s fiesta continue?
Despite initial concerns that Mexican cement demand would see a sharp contraction in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic consumption held up better than expected through the year. The early signs for 2021 are...