Argentina’s 2012 cement shipments fall 7.8% YoY

Total shipments (domestic and exports) from Argentine cement producers fell 7.8 per cent YoY, according to the latest update from the Asociacion de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP).

For the 12 months to December 2012, total shipments reached 10.69Mt compared to 11.6Mt achieved in 2011. Sales to the domestic market were down by 8.16 per cent last year to 10.46Mt, compared to 11.39Mt in the previous year. Exports, remained stable in 2012 at 236,807t compared to 235,412t in 2011.

In December alone, 808,000t of cement shipments (including exports) were recorded, registering a MoM fall of 17.6 per cent against November 2012. However, when compared with December 2011, the drop was less marked at 13 per cent, AFCP data shows.

Shipments, including imports, destined for the domestic market reached 787,554t as the country absorbed 17.9 per cent of cement less MoM and saw its demand cut by 14.7 per cent against the equivalent period the previous year.