Apparent domestic consumption advanced 2.9 per cent from 97.4Mt in 2017 to 100.2Mt in 2018, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The higher sales volumes were supported by an increase in the average cement price from US$121/t in 2017 to US$126.50/t the following year.
The rise in cement sales was attributed to a modest increase in construction spending as housing and public construction saw higher spending.
The leading cement-consuming states continued to be Texas, California and Florida. However, shipments to parts of Florida and the southeast were lower than originally anticipated due to hurricane damage in 2017. Deliveries to Puerto Rico were relatively strong following reconstruction work related to the 2017 hurricanes.
Production
Production of Portland cement in the USA in 2018 advanced to 85.4Mt while the production of masonry cement remained stable at 2.4Mt. As a result, total output of Portland and masonry cement increased two per cent to 87.8Mt in 2018.
Clinker production edged up from 76.5Mt in 2017 to 77.7Mt in 2018. However, output of cement remained well below capacity, partly reflecting the technical and environmental issues in returning long-idle kilns to full production at some plant and the ready availability of imported cement in coastal markets, said the USGS.
Exports and imports
In addition, 1Mt of hydraulic cement and clinker was exported, down slightly when compared with 1.035Mt in the previous year.
In terms of imports, hydraulic cement and clinker imports reached 14Mt and 0.91Mt, respectively. In 2017 imports of hydraulic cement and clinker imports stood at 12.288Mt and 1.209Mt, respectively.
