US-Puerto Rican cement shipments up 8% in July

Total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the USA and Puerto Rico advanced 7.7 per cent YoY to 10Mt in July, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The leading cement-consuming states were Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois, which accounted for 38 per cent of July deliveries. The leading producing states were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Michigan, which combined to account for 39 per cent of US cement output.

Masonry cement shipment showed a modest decrease YoY to 226,000t in July 2019. The leading consuming states were Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina and Georgia, which received 54 per cent of shipments in July.

Clinker production in the US (excluding Puerto Rico) totalled 7.6Mt in July, up 3.3 per cent when compared with July 2018. The leading clinker-producing states were Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Alabama.

In addition to domestic supply, 1.5Mt of cement and clinker were imported in July, representing a 3.3 per cent YoY decline.

January-July 2019
Dispatches of Portland and blended cement in the January-July 2019 period increased 2.4 per cent to 56.5Mt when compared to the 7M18. In addition, 1.4Mt of masonry cement was shipped in the first nine months of 2019, reflecting a stable market.

Clinker output remained unchanged at 43.5Mt in January-July 2019 when compared with the year-ago period.

Imports into the US in the 7M19 increased 9.2 per cent YoY to 9.3Mt.