Cement News tagged under: market report

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Brazil’s better tomorrow

15 July 2024, Published under Cement News

After a challenging few years, the outlook for the Brazilian cement industry is improving with renewed public investment in infrastructure and housing expected to generate moderate growth of cement demand. Private investment in housing is also forecast to support cement consumption in 2024. By SNIC, Brazil. As Brazil’s economy shows signs of picking up, the country resumes building a more prosperous future (© Raphael Paulino Goncalves) T he Brazilian economy grew by 2.9 p...

Vietnam cement exports drop 10.8% in 1H24

02 July 2024, Published under Cement News

Between 2019 and 2022, the average export value of cement and clinker ranged from US$1bn to US$1.3bn annually. However, in 2023, export earnings sharply declined due to falling prices. The average Free On Board (FOB) price of clinker fell to US$31-32/t in May 2024, a notable decrease from US$46-48/t  in 2022. The country’s Ministry of Construction (MoC) cited an increase in the tax on clinker exports, from five to 10 per cent as of 1 January 2023, as a key factor making Vietnamese clinker...

Renewed hope for Nigeria

21 June 2024, Published under Cement News

Nigeria’s incoming president has his work cut out, faced with a worsening security situation, accelerating inflation, declining oil revenues and food insecurity. After some bold moves, his economic choices appear to be paying off, albeit slowly. But what does this mean for the country’s cement producers as they tackle overcapacity and spiralling cement prices? By Suzanne Starbuck, ICR Research, UK With Nigeria’s population due to reach 400m by 2050, the government has set an infrastru...

Tanzania’s transformation

20 May 2024, Published under Cement News

Tanzania’s GDP has proven robust and is growing, resulting in major government infrastructure construction projects. This infrastructural transformation is boosting domestic cement demand but operational challenges for local producers remain. Meanwhile, changes to the corporate landscape have been hitting the headlines. By ICR Research, UK As the Tanzanian government looks to unlock the country’s potential through infrastructure investment, the construction industry is expected t...

Waiting for the sunshine

01 May 2024, Published under Cement News

The US Northern Rockies region has seen cement demand growth slow following the post-pandemic rebound. As the country awaits the outcome of the presidential elections, it looks to the Biden administration’s infrastructure investment and a drop in interest rates to accelerate growth in cement consumption. By Rob Roy, ROI Economic Consulting, USA Cement demand in the US Northern Rockies saw a cooling in 2022-23, but the market is expected to warm up in 2024. Pictured: Ash Grove Cem...

US cement outlook

29 April 2024, Published under Cement News

The US economy is strong. While PCA never bought into a recession scenario, its Fall Forecast (early October 2023) expected a modest economic growth slowdown. Data released following the forecast has been consistently stronger than expected. As a result, our view of US economic performance for 2024 has changed significantly. While our Spring Forecast has yet to be released, as of this writing, this economic strength will be reflected in the new forecast. By Ed Sullivan, PCA, USA. Pr...

Iraq: time for growth?

16 April 2024, Published under Cement News

Iraq is starting to see investment and action in the construction sector led by higher cement demand. The country’s government is pushing its agenda for new infrastructure and for the doubling of cement capacity.     Infrastructure and housing plans drive cement demand in Kurdistan, Iraq, where the industry continues to expand (© Al Orfali) When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the Iraqi economy declined by 15.7 per cent. Its recovery to pre-2019 levels took two ...

Indian cement leaders will expand capacity by 42.1Mta in FY24-25

08 April 2024, Published under Cement News

UltraTech Cement announced plans to commission an additional 5.4Mta of production capacity, which will bring its overall capacity to 151Mta. This expansion is part of a wider effort to increase its production by 21.6Mta in FY24-25. ACC-Ambuja Cement, the company’s closest competitor, has also announced an addition of 11.6Mta of capacity in FY24-25.  Kolkota-based Shree Cement Ltd announced that it has commissioned a further 3Mta of capacity. Industry analysts estimate that the compa...

Eastern Europe’s bid for growth

02 April 2024, Published under Cement News

ICR has been assessing the eastern European cement markets of Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. While decarbonisation is a central theme of all European cement markets, producers are also looking to improve plant efficiencies and are investing in new plant equipment.   The eastern European cement industry looks forward to a pick-up in cement demand in 2024 while it takes steps to decarbonise its operations (© Heidelberg Materials) The economic outlook in eastern Europe ha...

Prospects for the GCC industry

19 February 2024, Published under Cement News

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy has come under pressure from falling oil revenues, but economic diversification is paying off. Moving into 2024, cement market growth is expected across the region, headed by construction projects in Saudi Arabia and UAE, but cement overcapacity continues to overshadow the production base. The GCC cement markets of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are poised for growth in 2024, lead by residential and commercial activ...