Colombian cement demand declines 33% in May

Domestic dispatches of grey cement in Colombia fell by 33.1 per cent to 705,900t in May 2020 when compared with May 2019, when they stood at 1.055Mt, according to the country’s statistics office, DANE.

Ready-mix companies represented the largest drop as their offtake declined by 52.5 per cent YoY, followed by the concrete products segment, which contracted by 46.6 per cent. Building companies and contractors reduced their purchases by 36.7 per cent while the retail sector reduced its consumption by 22.6 per cent.
 
Output from Colombian cement plants declined by 30.4 per cent YoY to 778,700t in May 2020.

January-May 2020
In the January-May 2020 period dispatches were down 25.4 per cent to 3.707Mt from 4.972Mt in the 5M19.

Demand from ready-mix concrete companies fell by 37.1 per cent YoY, while sales to the concrete products segments fell by 32.6 per cent. Building companies and contractors reduced their offtake by 25.7 per cent while dispatches to the retail segment were down 21.1 per cent YoY.

Domestic production contracted by 24.1 per cent YoY to 3.905Mt when compared to 5.143Mt in the 5M19.