Cement News tagged: International
Egypt considers levy on cement exports
Egypt’s Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade Eng Hatem Saleh has said that the ministry is considering imposing a levy on cement exports as a result of increases in cement prices on the local market. In a statement released last Thursday by Egypt’s State Information Service, the Minister said that cement prices in the local market have increased from EGP420/t to EGP700/t, while there is a...
Vicat launches Bharathi brand in south Maharashtra market, India
The Vicat Group has launched its Bharathi cement brand in the south Maharashtra market, which is being supplied from its new plant at Gulbarga, Karnataka. The plant, which has a nominal capacity of 2.8Mta of cement was launched towards the the end of last year, and is a joint venture between Vicat of France and Sagar Cements of India. The main target markets for the Vicat-Sagar plant are v...
HeidelbergCement builds grinding facility in Burkina Faso
HeidelbergCement is constructing a new US$50m grinding plant in the west African country of Burkina Faso with local partners, the cement major said in a statement today. The new facility, which will have a capacity of 650,000tpa, is to be built near the capital city of Ouagadougou. “The construction of the new cement grinding plant is part of our strategy of expanding our clinker and cement...
SCG ready to cut electricity usage to deal with shortage
Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SGC) said it is ready to slash energy usage as Thailand prepares for an impending power supply crisis next month. The Southeast Asian country has been seeking measures and energy savings policies to be implemented during the period when Myanmar halts the gas delivery for pipeline maintenance during April 5-14 2013. Meanwhile, Somchai Wangwattanapanich, Vice ...
Pakistan eight-month sales ahead
Pakistan sales increased 3.2 per cent over the first eight months over the current fiscal, according to initial data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). A breakdown of figures over the eight month period from July 2012 to February 2013 shows that domestic sales grew by six per cent to 15.7Mt but export fell by 4.3 per cent to 5.4Mt The local sales showe...
Egypt: rising prices prompt monopoly concerns
A recent rise in Egyptian cement prices has prompted the country’s Consumer Protection Agency to file a complaint with the Protection of Competition on price fixing allegations. The Consumer Protection Agency is claiming that cement companies have tactically agreed to raise cement prices, according to reports in Al-Masry Al-Youm press. The report states that the president of the Consumer Pro...
US shipments ahead by 9% in 2012
Total shipments of Portland and blended cements in the US and Puerto Rico in 2012 reached 79Mta, up by about nine per cent YoY, according to the latest data from the US Geological Survey. Imports for the year to December 2012, meanwhile, were up by about eight per cent YoY. In December 2012 shipments were about 4.8Mt, slightly less than the same month of the year before. The leading produc...
UltraTech halts Awarpur operations due to action, India
UltraTech Cement has temporarily closed its 3.6Mta Awarpur plant in the state of Maharashtra due to a strike by workers. In a statement to the stock exchanges the company said that “...the operations at the company’s unit viz Awarpur Cement Works, Awarpur, Maharashtra, having a capacity of 3.6Mta has been temporarily shut down on account of stoppage of work by the workers.” KC Birla, chie...
UK: new orders indicate cautious optimism for construction
New UK construction orders for the final quarter of 2012, released on Friday by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), rose three per cent compared to the third quarter and were 11 per cent higher than the same quarter a year earlier. Although new orders remain at historic lows, this is a second consecutive quarter of growth and potentially provides positive signs for the industry going forw...
Siam Cement Group to construct 1.8Mta plant in Indonesia
Thailand's largest conglomerate, Siam Cement Group (SCG) has said it is to build a new 1.8Mta plant in Indonesia as it seeks to gain a foothold in this thriving Southeast Asian cement market. SCG Chief Finance Officer Chaovalit Ekabut said the new plant will be in Sukabumi in West Java with a total investment of US$356m, The Jakarta Post reported Thursday. "We expect to start constru...
Vietnam Jan-Feb production rises 16%
Vietnam is estimated to have produced 8.2Mt of cement in the first two months of this year, up 16 per cent from a year earlier, according to the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said. In February, the country’s cement output is likely to have fallen by 23.91 per cent from January and nine per cent from the same month of last year to 3.5Mt, the GSO said in a monthly report released...
Iranian output rises 5.6% YoY
Iranian output continues its upward climb as the country produced 5.6 per cent more cement in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year (which began on 20 March 2012) compared to the same period of the previous year. Production for the 11 months reached 64.1Mt of cement, IRNA reported on Wednesday. Output is expected to reach 75Mt for the full year with exports In of 12Mt. ...
Pakistan exports volumes fall, rise in value terms
Pakistan exports during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY12-13) fell 0.52 per cent to 5.076Mt, according to data released by Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Statistics. In terms of value, however, exports rose by 24.67 per cent to US$273.33m. The average export price of cement increased by 25.31 per cent to US$67.12/t in the seven months from US$53.56/t of 7MFY 2011-12 ...
Lebanon sees declining deliveries in 2012
Lebanon cement deliveries dropped by 4.4 per cent YoY in 2012 to 5.308Mt. The decline in cement deliveries and construction permits (which fell by 11.7 per cent in 2012) confirms the slowdown or delay in the initiation of construction projects, according to local press reports. During December 2012, cement deliveries dropped by 17.7 perc ent from the same month of 2011 to reach 367,000t. Inde...
Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US celebrates Centennial with community service Initiative
Holcim and Aggregate Industries US, a Holcim Group Company, celebrated the centennial anniversary of their parent company, Holcim Ltd in 2012. To mark the milestone, the company launched Together for Communities, an initiative in which employees led local volunteer projects. Together for Communities built on the Holcim mission and extends the values that are essential to creating the highest q...
Holcim less optimistic on European construction market
Holcim said on Wednesday that it was less optimistic about the prospects for the European construction market in 2013 as it reported worse-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. "While group regions Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America are expected to witness higher sales volumes, Holcim is somewhat less optimistic with regard to Europe and Africa Middle East," the Swiss com...