US and Puerto Rican blended and Portland cement shipments up 6% in April

Blended and Portland cement shipments in the USA and Puerto Rico advanced 5.9 per cent to 8.7Mt in April 2019, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The largest US markets were Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Georgia, which accounted for a combined share of 42 per cent of such shipments. The leading cement-producing states during the month were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama.

Masonry cement deliveries increased 4.6 per cent YoY to 218,000t. Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina and Georgia – the five leading consuming states – received 56 per cent of this total.

Clinker output in the USA (excluding Puerto Rico) slipped 3.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent in April 2019 when compared with the year-ago month as maintenance on several kilns affected production. However, the clinker shortfalls were addressed using stockpiled and imported clinker. As a result, the production of cement was unaffected.

Imports of cement and clinker totalled 1.5Mt, up 16 per cent YoY.

January-April 2019
In the first four months of 2019, the US and Puerto Rican markets consumed 28.1Mt of blended and Portland cements. This represents an increase of 3.5 per cent YoY. Masonry cement shipments during this period totalled 0.77Mt, edging up by 2.2 per cent when compared with the equivalent period in 2018.

Clinker production remained stable in the first four months of 2019 and was led by Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama.

In addition, the country imported 4.5Mt of cement and clinker, representing a 21 per cent YoY rise.