Spanish cement market contracts 3.1% in 2016

Cement demand in Spain closed at 11,140,639t in 2016, representing a 3.1 per cent YoY fall, according to Oficemen, the country's cement association. In December, domestic cement consumption dropped 3.8 per cent to 804,372t when compared with December 2015.

Exports have to some extent offset the contraction of the Spanish market, rising 5.6 per cent YoY to 9,732,631t.

Oficemen expects the market to stagnate in 2017 with growth below one per cent, depending on the trend in residential construction. "After almost a decade of deep crisis, the outlook for 2017 is very worrying," explains the president of Oficemen, Jaime Ruiz de Haro. "Just a few days ago the Ministry of Public Works has already anticipated that due to the requirements of meeting the public deficit target, 2017 would be a 'complicated' year for infrastructure investment, with a total endowment even lower than that of the year ended and hitting a new historical low."