Domestic cement sales in Brazil fell 2.4 per cent YoY to 4.9Mt in August 2018, according to the country’s cement association, SNIC.

In the first eight months of 2018, accumulated sales slipped 1.7 per cent YoY to 34.89Mt while in the year ending in August 2018 they were down 2.6 per cent to 52.7 per cent when compared with the equivalent period in the previous year.

For 2018, SNIC maintains its forecast of a decrease in sales of between 1-2 per cent. This would mark the fourth-consecutive year of lower sales and a total drop of 26 per cent since 2014.

The fall in sales has been attributed by SNIC President, Paulo Camillo Penna, to the country’s weak economic situation and the lingering impact of the truck drivers’ strike last May.