Argentinan capacity at its limits?

Cement production capacity in Argentina is reaching its limit, according to Sitio Andino. The rupture of  a filter that paralysed Loma Negra’s San Juan works for a month-and-a-half, at a time when the Mendoza construction sector enjoyed a recovery, has highlighted the tight fit between supply and demand in the South American country. Delivery lead times shot up to 30-45 days and prices surged at retail level to around US$58/50kg bag.

Loma Negra and Holcim, two major cement producers recognised the ‘logistical problems’ arising from the stoppage at the factory at a time of growing demand and said they were working to standardise the production and supply of cement.

As construction activity recovers, cement demand has expanded. In Mendoza, consumption rose by 6.6 per cent YoY from 374,456t to 399,181t in the Jan-Sep 2013 period, according to the latest figures of the Argentinean cement producers’ association, AFCP. 

Nationwide, cement producers enjoyed a 10.8 per cent YoY increase as they dispatched 8.75Mt.