Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the US and Puerto Rico for the year through June 2014 reached 39.5Mt, up by about seven per cent from the same period in 2013.

Latest data from the US Geological Survey shows that shipments during June 2014 alone were up by 11 per cent YoY to 8.3Mt.

The leading cement producing states in June were Texas, Missouri, California, Michigan and Florida (in descending order), which accounted for about 43 per cent of the total output. The leading consuming states (Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois, in descending order) received about 37 per cent of the total June shipments.

Clinker production totalled 6.6Mt in June 2014, up by five per cent from the same month of the previous year. Production for the first six months of this year climbed four per cent to 33.7Mt. The leading clinker-producing states in June were California, Texas, Missouri, Florida and Alabama, in descending order.

Imports for the six month period were up by nearly eight per cent YoY to 3.55Mt. Imports in June 2014 of 922,000t were 19 per cent higher YoY.