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KFTC fines 26 manufacturers for cartelisation

16 April 2018, Published under Cement News

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has announced that it levied KRW15.37bn (US$14.64m) of fines on 26 cement manufacturers for cartelisation activities, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. The KFTC stated that the manufacturers had colluded to set the prices of ready-mix concrete provided to smaller construction firms between 2009-16. As a result, the prices of the construction material have been on the rise, according to the watchdog. The KFTC has referred the 26 companies to state p...

Saudi Arabia cement sales fall 11% in 1Q18

13 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Saudi Arabia's total cement sales for 1Q18 stood at 11.8Mt, down 11 per cent YoY and one per cent QoQ. The combination of weak demand and high inventory levels forced the companies to seek other solutions such as entering other regions within the kingdom as well as exporting with low selling prices. Yanbu Cement’s low cash cost per tonne gives the company the ability to export at lower prices, which is likely not possible for other companies to replicate, says finance research group Al Raj...

Polish cement market to grow 6-7% in 2018

12 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Cement demand in Poland is expected to grow by 6-7 per cent in 2018. This would bring domestic demand to 18Mt, according to the Association of Cement Producers (SPC). SPC estimates show that in 2017 domestic consumption reached 17Mt, up seven per cent YoY. After a poor first quarter, construction picked up in April and the housing market showed positive growth. Road and rail construction saw a revival and industrial construction reported solid growth. Going forward, the construction m...

Quinn Industrial Holdings records positive 2017

12 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) has recorded a 7.4 per cent YoY increase in turnover to EUR209m for the full-year 2017 period. EBITDA saw a significant improvement of 31 per cent, from EUR18.2m to EUR23.9m. The positive results have been partly attributed to a strong performance from Quinn Building Products, which benefitted from the ongoing building recovery in the ROI and stronger exports to the UK via its new cement export hub at Warrenpoint, according to a press release. Liam McCa...

Moroccan cement market contracts 15% in March

10 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Moroccan cement demand declined 15.1 per cent YoY in March 2018 to 1,124,152t from 1,324,221t in the third month of 2017, according to the latest data from the country's Ministry of Housing and Urbanisation. The Casablanca-Settat market, the largest in the country, saw its requirement in March decrease by 19.1 per cent YoY to 236,503. However, dispatches to the Marrakech-Safi area saw a 7.9 per cent YoY increase to 176,785t while in Rabat-Salé-Kenira, they were down 19.5 per cent to 129,68...

PPC considers expansion and possible sell-off in DR Congo

09 April 2018, Published under Cement News

PPC Ltd's Chief Executive Officer, Johann Claassen, has vowed to boost liquidity and extend debt maturity and he's eyeing future expansion for the company in east and west Africa. New investment would follow a ZAR12bn (US$995m) outlay on five plants in the past five years, which took PPC into countries such as Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. All are now in operation and generating cash, said Mr Claassen, allowing the company to consider new facilities. "We had to ste...

Egyptian cement prices rise EGP250/t in March

09 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Egyptian cement prices increased by EGP250/t (US$14.14/t) to reach EGP1100/t at the beginning of March, reports Ahram Online. This has been attributed to some manufacturers using a halt in production in Sinai to raise prices, according to members of the Building Materials Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.  The cement price hike is part of a wider increase in the cost of building materials, which could result in a 15-20 per cent rise in real estate unit prices over the year. “Rea...

New CSI-IEA cement technology roadmap offers strategy for 24% cut in CO2 emissions

06 April 2018, Published under Cement News

The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) and International Energy Agency (IEA) have published a new technology roadmap, Low-Carbon Transition in the Cement Industry, to update the first global cement roadmap produced in 2009. The roadmap provides a combination of technology and policy solutions to reducing direct carbon emissions by the cement industry by 24 per cent below current levels by 2050. It outlines policy priorities and regulatory recommendations as well as investment stimulat...

PCA forecasts 3% growth in cement consumption for 2018

06 April 2018, Published under Cement News

The USA-based Portland Cement Association (PCA) has released its Market Intelligence Spring Forecast and envisions modest growth for cement consumption over the next two years, increasing by 2.8 per cent in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 consumption is expected to rise four per cent as positive impacts from potential federal infrastructure spending are likely to come into effect, according to the PCA report. The PCA analysis suggests that infrastructure spending is not likely to occur until the 4...

Argentina cement market expands 6% in March

05 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Cement consumption in Argentina increased 6.2 per cent in March 2018 to 1,091,121t from 1,027,094t in March 2017, according to the country’s cement association, AFCP. When compared with the previous month, sales to the domestic market advanced 18.1 per cent from 924,085t in February 2018. Sales from domestic producers rose 4.7 per cent in March to 1,073,831t from 1,025,620t in March 2017. When compared with the previous month, they advanced 18.2 per cent from 908,513t in February 2018. Ou...