Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the US and Puerto Rico in June 2015 were about 8.9Mt, up by 7.6 per cent YoY, according to data from the the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Shipments for the year through June totalled 40.8Mt, up by 3.6 per cent for the same period in 2014. The leading producing states for Portland and blended cement in June were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Michigan, in descending order, and accounted for about 41 per cent of total apparent output. The leading consuming states (Texas, California, Florida, Illinois and Ohio in descending order) received about 36 per cent of June shipments.

Clinker production totalled 7Mt in June 2015, up by 7.2 per cent from the output in June 2014. Production for the year through June was 35.3Mt, up by 4.7 per cent from the same period in 2014. The leading clinker-producing states in June were Texas, Missouri, California, Florida and Alabama,

June 2015 imports of cement and clinker of 1.2Mt were 34 per cent higher than those in June 2014. Imports for the year through June totalled 4.9Mt, up by about 39 per cent front eh same period in 2014. Some of the growth in imports relative to production reflects higher consumption in certain districts that have traditionally been significantly reliant on imports, as well as production constraints, including those related to still idle kilns in some other districts, the USGS notes.