US and Puerto Rico shipments down slightly

Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico in April 2017 were about 7.6Mt, slightly less than sales in April 2016, latest data from the US Geological Survey shows.

The leading producing states in April 2017 were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama, in descending order. The leading cement-consuming States (Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Georgia, in descending order) received 41 per cent of the April shipments. Shipments for the year through April were 26.5Mt, largely unchanged from the same period in 2016. Clinker production totalled 6.1Mt in April 2017, up slightly from the output in April 2016.

The leading clinker-producing sates in April were, in descending order, Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Pennsylvania, and these states accounted for 48 per cent for the month’s total production. Clinker production for the year through April totalled 21.9Mt, down slightly on a YoY basis.

April 2017 imports of cement and clinker of about 1.08Mt were about 26 per cent lower than those in April 2016 (the record month for that year). Imports for the year through April totalled 3.53Mt down slightly from those of the same period in 2016. However, within the 2017 total, the January imports were understated by nearly 28,000t of grey Portland cement imported into the San Francisco Customs district under a tariff code for another commodity.