US shipments ahead in first five months

Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico in May 2013 were about 7.77Mt, up by nearly three per cent YoY, according to the latest statistics from the US Geological Survey (USGS). Shipments for the year were also up slightly to 29.7Mt, the data shows.

The leading Portland cement-producing states in May were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Michigan (in descending order). These five states accounted for around 43 per cent of total shipments during the month. The leading consuming states (Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois, in descending order) received about 38 per cent of total shipments in May.

Clinker production totaled about 6.7Mt in May, seven per cent more than the output in May 2012. Production for the year through to May 2013 was 26.1Mt, again a slight rise. The leading producing states during the month were California, Texas, Missouri, Florida and Alabama (in descending order).

May 2013 imports of cement and clinker were nearly 10 per cent less than the same month of the previous year, falling to 651,000t. However, imports for the year through to May totaled 2.52Mt, up by nearly five per cent.