United States cement consumption in September fell 2.3 per cent versus the same month last year, representing a reversal of the growth trend for the first time in 2012. According to preliminary figures released by the USGS, monthly cement consumption reached 6.95Mt in September, versus 7.12Mt in 2011.

Nevertheless, year-to-date consumption in 2012 has still outperformed 2011, and reached 59.56Mt in the first nine months, up 10.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.