Colombia’s cement output drops 1.3% in December 2012

Colombia’s grey cement production fell 1.3 per cent YoY in December 2012 as output slipped to 948,400t, according to the national statistics agency DANE.

In terms of dispatches, some 831,500t were sold on the national market, a 5.9 per cent YoY cut, attributed mainly to the 11.6 per cent drop in retail sales. However, builders and contractors increased their takeoff by 9.9 per cent.

The largest contraction in dispatches was noted in Bogotá (-17.7 per cent) while Cundinamarca enjoyed a 28 per cent rise in sales during December.

Whole-year figures show production at 10,924,800t, up 1.4 per cent YoY. Full-year sales data also indicate an upturn in the market as Colombian producers sold 3.4 per cent more product than the previous year, taking sales to 10,496,100t.

Builders and contractors increased their purchases by 28.1 per cent, followed by readymix companies, which bought 10.9 per cent more cement. However, on a retail level, the market contracted by 6.4 per cent.

 The market boomed in Cundinamarca as it expanded 44.7 per cent while sales were also brisk in Norte de Santander (18.5 per cent), Córdoba (15.3 per cent), Santander (15.1 per cent) and Magdalena (9.4 per cent). At the opposite end of the spectrum, Risaralda and Nariño registered a drop in sales of 10.3 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.