Spain sees demand fall 3.4% in September

Spanish cement consumption contracted 3.4 per cent in September to reach 973,047t, according to the country’s cement organisation, Oficemen. In the January-September 2016 period demand slipped 2.9 per cent to 8.4Mta.

Oficemen CEO, Aniceto Zaragoza, has insisted that the situation remains “very delicate” for the sector and he does not expect the situation to change in the next few months.

The association emphasised that investment recovery in infrastructure should be a political priority because if the construction sector is not active, given its high buoyancy effects and drag on the overall economy, it will be very difficult to recover employment levels and overcome the crisis. He recalled that the country has significant shortfalls in its secondary road network, urban mobility, freight transport among other infrastructure requirements, including ongoing maintenance.