US Portland and blended cement shipments edge up in 11M19

Portland and blended cement
Total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the USA and Puerto Rico increased 3.2 per cent YoY to 10.1Mt in October 2019, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). In November 2019 they rose slightly YoY to 7.9Mt when compared with November 2018.

The leading cement-consuming states in October were Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois, which accounted for 38 per cent of the total. In November the leading cement-consuming States (Texas, California, Florida, Ohio, and Georgia) received 40 per cent of shipments.

Missouri, Texas, California, Florida and Michigan accounted for 41 per cent of domestic cement production in October while in November the top producing states  were Missouri, Texas, California, Florida and Alabama.

Masonry cement
Masonry cement shipments declined by 4.1 per cent to 223,000t in October when compared with October 2018. Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina and Georgia were the largest consumers, receiving 56 per cent of domestic shipments.

In November masonry sales remained stable at 172,000t when compared with the year-ago period. A total share of 58 per cent of masonry shipments was supplied to Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Clinker production
Clinker production, excluding Puerto Rico, advanced 5.3 per cent YoY to 7.5Mt in October and 11 per cent to 7.1Mt in November. Texas, Missouri, California, Florida and Alabama were the top five clinker-producing states in October while one month later, Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Pennsylvania make the top five, accounting for 51 per cent of clinker produced.

Imports
In October 2019 imports of cement and clinker totalled 1.3Mt, slipping modestly from those in October 2018. However, imports in November showed a 16 per cent increase YoY as they reached 1.2Mt.

January-November 2019
The USGS also reported that total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the 11M19 increased 3.4 per cent YoY to 94.4Mt. Masonry cement deliveries to November edged up to 2.2Mt. Clinker output in the 11M19 totalled 72.3Mt, up 2.4 per cent when compared with the 11M18. Imports in the January-November 2019 period advanced 8.1 per cent YoY to 15.1Mt.