Colombian cement deliveries fall 5% in February

Colombia’s grey cement sales contracted 4.8 per cent YoY to 959,500t in February 2018, according to DANE, the national statistics office.

Dispatches to Norte de Santander registered the largest growth at 43.9 per cent YoY, followed by Valle del Cauca, where deliveries expanded by 6.3 per cent. The Bogotá market contracted 14.8 per cent YoY while dispatches to Cundinamarca and Santander were also significantly reduced by 12.2 and 16.6 per cent, respectively.

Cement production in February fell 6.9 per cent to 954,400t when compared with February 2017, when output reached 1,025,700t.

In the first two months of 2018, the domestic grey cement market contracted 2.8 per cent YoY to 1,867,100t.

In terms of regions, Norte de Santander recorded a 34.9 per cent increase in dispatches YoY while the market in Valle del Cauca also returned a positive trend, expanding by 8.3 per cent when compared with 2M17. Cement producers saw deliveries in Bogotá fall by 11.5 per cent YoY over the two-month period. Cundinamarca sales were down 8.3 per cent when compared with 2M17. 

Bulk sales were down 5.6 per cent while bagged cement saw a 1.5 per cent reduction in dispatches in 2M18 when compared with 2M17.

Production slipped 3.3 per cent to 1,859,700t in January-February 2018. The decline was more modest than in the same period of 2017, when output fell 5.9 per cent YoY.