Cement shipments in USA slip to 9.3Mt

Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the USA and Puerto Rico fell to 9.3Mt in May 2019, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The leading consuming states were
 Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Georgia , which combined account for 39 per cent of shipments in May. Leading producing states were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama.

Masonry cement deliveries remained stable at 0.222Mt in May when compared with the year-ago period. Some 55 per cent of shipments were combined by the five leading consuming states – Florida, Texas, North Carolina, California and Georgia.

Clinker output from US cement plants (excluding Puerto Rico) remained level at 7.2Mt in May 2019.

To supplement domestic output, 1.6Mt of cement and clinker were imported, representing a YoY decline of 6.2 per cent.

January-May 2019
For the first five months of the year, Portland and blended dispatches advanced 2.5 per cent to 37.4Mt when compared with the 5M18.

Meanwhile, dispatches of masonry cement during January-May 2019 reached 0.993Mt, up slightly when compared with the 5M18.

Clinker production for the 5M19 period totalled 29Mt, a similar level when compared with the year-ago period.

Clinker and cement imports were up 12 per cent YoY to 6.1Mt during the first five months of 2019.