Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico for the year through August 2014 were 57.3Mt, up by about seven per cent from the same period of last year, latest figures from the US Geological Survey show.

In August 2014 total shipments were 8.7Mt, up slightly from the same period of last year.

The leading Portland cement producing states in August were Texas, Missouri, California, Florida and Michigan, in descending order, accounting for about 43 per cent of the total output. The leading consuming states during the month were Texas, California, Florida, Illinois and Ohio, in descending order, which received about 37 per cent of total shipments.

Clinker production totalled 6.8Mt in August 2014, up by four per cent from the same period of last year. Production for the year through August totalled 47.7Mt, an increase of about six per cent YoY. The leading clinker-producing states in August were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Pennsylvania, in descending order, and accounted for 48 per cent of total output.

August 2014 imports of cement and clinker of 952,000t were 14 per cent higher than those of 2013. Imports over the first eight months of 2014 totalled 5.44Mt, up by about 15 per cent versus the same period of last year.