APCMA reports cement dispatches bounce back in September

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturer Association (APCMA) reports that domestic cement dispatch for September 2018 bounced back after two months of lacklustre growth, registering a double-digit increase compared with the same month of last year.

The Pakistan cement industry dispatched 3.806Mt of cement in September 2018 against 3.201Mt in same month last year, a growth of 18.9 per cent YoY.
 
Northern region dispatches were 2.45Mt, an increase of 3.5 per cent against 2.369Mt in September 2017 whereas dispatches in the southern region amounted to 0.641Mt, up by 48.8 per cent in September 2018, against 0.431Mt in the same month last year.
 
September 2018 exports from north were 0.294Mt down by 4.7 per cent against 0.308Mt in September 2017. Exports from the south stood at 0.421Mt in September 2018 rising by 350.9 per cent, against 0.093Mt in September last year.
 
In the July-September 2018 period, cement mills dispatched 10.813Mt of cement, only 4.5 per cent higher than 10.35Mt cement dispatched during the corresponding period of last year. Domestic capacity utilisation was at 79.75 per cent  in the first quarter compared with average capacity utilisation of 87 per cent during the previous three years.