Construction firms and contractors drive 4% rise in Colombia’s cement demand

Colombian cement dispatches picked up 4.3 per cent to 1.098Mt in August 2021 from 1.052Mt in August 2020, according to the country’s statistics office, DANE. When compared with August 2019 deliveries slipped 0.1 per cent from 1.099Mt.

Growth was particularly robust in the ready-mix segment where off-take saw a 14 per cent improvement. Construction companies and contractors increased their purchases by 6.5 per cent while sales to the retail sector edged up 0.3 per cent.

Production from domestic cement plants saw a 6.2 per cent advance YoY to 1.163Mt in August 2021 from 1.096Mt. When compared with August 2019, a one per cent drop from 1.175Mt was reported.

January-August 2021
Cement dispatches in Chile saw a 24.7 per cent hike to 8.425Mt in the January-August 2021 period when compared with 6.757Mt in the 8M20.

In the 8M21 the ready-mix sector reported strong growth of 27 per cent YoY while construction companies and contractors increased their offtake by 24.6 per cent. The retail sector reported growth of 23.6 per cent YoY.

Domestic cement output increased 24.5 per cent to 8.864Mt in the 8M21, up from 7.12Mt in the 8M20.