Cement News tagged under: USA

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UBC and Baltrader form joint cement shipping alliance

19 June 2019, Published under Cement News

Baltrader, based in Hamburg, Germany, and United Bulk Carriers (UBC), headquartered in Philadelphia, USA, have signed an agreement to jointly market their respective fleets of pneumatic cement carriers under the name Cement Carrier Alliance (CCA). The new set-up will be able to offer a wider range of vessel sizes, ranging from 3000t to 14,000dwt.  “As two independent partners motivated by the same objectives, we have teamed up for the marketing of our respective cement carrier fleets” CC...

Grupo Argos interested in Summit Materials merger

14 June 2019, Published under Cement News

Grupo Argos has approached US aggregates and cement producer Summit Materials Inc about a merger, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would expand Grupo Argos’ footprint, but it remains uncertain whether Summit Materials would be prepared to negotiate a deal with Argos, said Reuters. The news saw shares of Summit increase by 14 per cent to US$15.51, resulting in a US$1.8bn market capitalisation for the US company. However, as at the end of March, it had accumulated US$...

US import tax on Mexican products to have little effect on Mexican cement

04 June 2019, Published under Cement News

The five per cent import tariff on all Mexican products, imposed by US President, Donald Trump, would not impact the cement industry as shipments to the US represent only 3.4 per cent of the total domestic output, assured Yanina Navarro, general director of Mexico’s chamber of cement, Canacem. In 2018 Mexico produced 44Mt of cement but only exported 1.416Mt. "Cement is a very local product, even moving it within the country implies a lot of logistics, which is why it represents very little...

Eagle Materials to separate heavy and light material businesses

31 May 2019, Published under Cement News

USA-based Eagle Materials’ board has approved a plan to separate its heavy materials and light materials businesses into two publicly-traded entities. Earlier this month, Sachem Head Capital Management, which disclosed a nine per cent stake in the company in March, reportedly urged the company to separate its cement and wallboard businesses, according to Reuters. Eagle Materials’ heavy materials business will operate as a cement company, while the light materials business will continue to...

Reconditioning race against time

28 May 2019, Published under Cement News

The reconditioning of 14 raw and coal mill rollers enabled one US cement plant to be fully up-and-running after a shorter-than-usual maintenance period just before the facility’s busiest season. By Smith Services, USA. One of the eight raw mill rollers for reconditioning Working around the clock, seven-days-a-week, a major cement mill located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA produces over 4000tpd of cement. Spanning over 100 acres, the mill is one part of the US industry’s ...

Ecocem forced to drop Vallejo mill project

28 May 2019, Published under Cement News

Ecocem of Ireland has dropped plans for a grinding mill Vallejo, San Francisco Bay, California, USA, after project partner Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT) withdrew from the proposed plant. VMT's lawyer, Krista Kim, told the city council that her client no longer supported the project, which has endured a six-year planning application battle. VMT owned the land on which the proposed EUR45m plant would have been constructed for Ecocem subsidiary Orcem Americas. Vallejo's council was scheduled ...

Can Titan expect a better 2019?

24 May 2019, Published under Cement News

This week Titan Group announced its first-quarter 2019 results which saw a 12.5 per cent rise in turnover but also a EUR6.2m loss appearing on the company’s profit and loss account. While the US market and southeastern Europe returned healthy business results, the company’s performance was more muted in its other markets, particularly in Egypt and Turkey. However, going forward Titan sees the overall group outlook for 2019 as more favourable. The USA is Titan’s most important market, ge...

Titan reports 13% advance in 1Q turnover but EUR6.2m net loss

23 May 2019, Published under Cement News

Greece-based Titan Group reported a 12.5 per cent rise YoY in consolidated turnover to EUR362.7m in the first quarter of 2019 ended 31 March 2019. The company attributed the higher sales to a robust US market and growth in southeastern Europe. EBITDA was up two per cent to EUR44m as the company faced a challenging business environment in Egypt and Turkey. Titan's net result was impacted by higher depreciation charges and unfavourable foreign exchange rates, recording a EUR6m loss (1Q18: E...

US and Puerto Rican cement shipments fall to 5.7Mt in February

22 May 2019, Published under Cement News

Total shipments of Portland and blended cements in the USA and Puerto Rico fell slightly to 5.7Mt in February 2019 when compared with February 2018, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The top-five consuming states were Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and North Carolina. Masonry cement dispatches totalled 160,000t in February 2019, down 5.2 per cent YoY. Leading masonry cement-consuming states were Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and North Carolina. The country’s leadin...

Who’s who in North American cement imports?

16 May 2019, Published under Cement News

To understand the dynamics of the current cement import situation in North America it is important to look behind the statistics. Why is there a wave of new terminals with so many of the existing terminals still mothballed? Where will the further growth of imports materialise? Who will be the key players? To get the answers we need to know who’s who in North American imports. By Ad Ligthart and Marcia Ligthart, Cement Distribution Consultants, The Netherlands. Figure 1: OPC, white and...