Colombian demand grows 12% in February

Colombian cement demand expanded by 11.7 per cent in February 2014 compared to the previous year with dispatches reaching 924,000t, according to the statistics office, Dane. Major growth was recorded in Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Norte de Santander y Cauca.

Cement production rose to 907,800t, up 10.2 per cent when compared with the same month a year ago.

In the year ending February 2014, deliveries advanced by five per cent YoY to 10.972Mt. Output from Colombia’s cement plants rose by 4.9 per cent to 11.352Mt over the period.

The rise in cement demand has been mainly attributed to the considerable increase in housing starts, which shot up by 36 per cent to 14,662 in February 2014. Social housing noted a 150 per cent increase to 10,165 units, according to a report by Coordenada Urbana.