Cement News tagged: International
Indonesian 1Q12 sales rise 18.2%
Indonesia's domestic cement sales were 12.5Mt in the first quarter, up 18.2 per cent from a year ago, data from PT Semen Gresik Tbk showed on Friday. March sales were 4.4Mt, up 16.2 per cent from the same month last year, the data showed, with most sales in Sumatra and Java islands. Total domestic cement sales in 2011 reached 47.9Mt, a YoY rise of 17 per cent and growth is expected t...
US January shipments rise 25% YoY
Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico for January 2012 rose by 25 per cent YoY, data from the US Geological Survey shows , while imports were nearly double those of January 2011. Shipments during the month were 4.6Mt and continued to reflect mild winter weather conditions and a trend of increased consumption that began in May 2011. The leading p...
Vietnam first-quarter cement consumption at 9.57Mt
Vietnam’s cement sales stood at 9.57Mt in the first quarter of this year, meeting 17.4 per cent of the whole-year plan, due to the implementation of several projects in March that lead to the strong demand, the Ministry of Construction said. Cement production was 9.98Mt in the period, making up 18.1% of the full-year target, including 4.85Mt in March, the ministry said on its website. Vie...
Holcim (US) agrees to pay Clean Water Act Penalty, USA
The US Environmental Protection Agency has entered into a Combined Complaint and Consent Agreement (CCCA) with Holcim (US), Inc in response to alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at its limestone and silica quarry and Portland cement plant located in Florence, Fremont County, Colorado. EPA alleges that Holcim had unauthorised ground water discharges at the facility, failed to comply w...
Argentina sees strong MoM gains
Argentina’s shipments (domestic plus export) in March 2012 reached 973,069t, representing a month-on-month rise of 24.1 per cent, data from the local cement association, AFCP, showed. On a YoY basis, shipments were up 5.2%. Domestic sales, including imports totalled 952,811t, a MoM advance of 24.9 per cent and a YoY rise of 4.5 per cent.
Qilianshan Cement's rights issue plan approval, China
Gansu Qilianshan Cement, has received approval from China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to raise as much as CNY1.68bn via a rights issue. The company plans to issue no more than 142 million new shares to all its shareholders at a ratio of three new shares for every ten existing shares. The proceeds from the issuance will be used to repay the company's short-term commercial paper an...
Cuban plant celebrates anniversary, surpasses production target
With over 25,000t of grey cement made in the first quarter of this year, the “26 de Julio” cement works situated in the municipality of Nuevitas, Cuba, celebrates its 44th anniversary. Rudy García Arce, general manager of this factory, highlighted that the company surpassed its production target for the first quarter of 2012. In order to work more efficiently, Mr Arce said it is a priori...
India cartel ruling expected in 15 days
India’s Competition Commission said it will be at least 15 days before it issues its final report on an alleged cartel by 39 cement companies. "There will be 2-3 meetings of the members. So far, there had been no sittings. It will take at least 15 days for us to prepare the final report," a senior CCI member told PTI. CCI is probing an alleged cement cartel on various fronts including se...
Irish Cement strike action continues, Ireland
Workers at the Irish Cement production plants in Limerick and Platin are continuing strike action over a dispute surrounding the company’s failure to honour a Labour recommendation relating to the payment of outstanding monies to its employees. Local press have reported that pickets were placed on the entrances of the two plants on Tuesday following a decision to take industrial action by t...
New Jamaican project given green light
Canadian engineering firm Cemcorp has been given permission by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to construct Jamaica's second cement plant, according to local press reports. Cemcorp will construct a 1.5Mta plant at Port Esquivel, St Catherine, at a cost of US$340m. "We are happy that we can now move forward with our plans," Armand Nahmiache, Cemcorp's chief executive o...
No asset sales in proposed Cimpor buyout
Jose Barros Franco, chief executive of Intercement, a subsidiary of Brazil's second-largest construction group Camargo Correa does not expect to have to sell any assets if its buyout of Cimpor goes ahead as planned. In a written reply to questions from Reuters the bid price of EUR5.5/Cimpor share was "fair", but would not say if the company would consider sweetening the offer. Portuguese ...
Cartel ruling expected shortly, India
A ruling by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on an alleged cartel by cement companies is expected imminently, with a negative verdict likely to negatively affect profits and pricing power, according to sources. “Rumours of penalties of cement companies by CCI has been doing the rounds time and again,” said Vivek Mahajan, head of research at Aditya Birla Money. Brokerage Macquari...
Iran output rises eight per cent
Iran registered an eight per cent YoY rise in cement production last year, which ended on 19 March with volumes reaching 66.4Mt, IRNA news agency reported. Some 67.6Mt of clinker was producer, up 12 per cent YoY. Meanwhile, exports of cement and clinker increased 17.44 per cent and reached 10.12Mt. Mehdi Ghazanfari, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade, stated that domestic capac...
China’s cement makers fall on demand worries
Chinese cement companies fell sharply on worries about sluggish demand as China’s investment growth is slowing, Dow Jones reports. Thanks to production limits imposed by the government, cement prices are stabilising, says Huatai United Securities in a note. The house says: “Further rises in cement prices will be capped because it’s almost certain that China’s investment in infrastructure an...
Qatar quarry relocation not to affect cement sector
Qatar’s reported moves to relocate as many as 14 quarries will not affect the country's cement production base, according to a report by Global Investment House (GIH). "At the end of February 2012, the Qatari government announced closure of 14 quarries due to environmental reasons,” Global said in a ‘GCC Cement Quarterly’ report. “Global Research had discussion over this topic with on...
Pakistan prices see further rises
Cement producers in the Sindh and Balochistan regions have increased cement prices by PKR10/bag – the second increase in just over two weeks, according to reports by local press. Cement prices were hiked by PKR10-15/50kg bag on 26 March citing a rising demand in the summer as a reason. This followed a January 2012 rise, where prices increased by PKR2.5/bag. Analysts said repeated hikes in...