Cement News tagged under: usa

RSS feed

Fitch upgrades Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua's ratings to 'BB'; outlook Stable

13 January 2016, Published under Cement News

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) local and foreign currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB' from 'BB-'. Fitch also upgraded GCC's US$260m senior notes due 2020 to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The rating outlook is Stable. The ratings upgrade reflects the strengthening of US residential construction across several of the company's markets as well as a favourable economic environment in northern Mexico that should support cement demand in the state of Chihuahua. Robust...

Votorantim

05 January 2016, Published under Cement News

Votorantim subsidiary St Mary’s Cement is proposing to spend around US$130m to a kiln expansion and modernisation programme at its works at Charlevoix, Michigan, USA. This is expected to increase the capacity from the current 1.4Mta to 2Mta.  Elsewhere, Votorantim’s Spanish subsidiary, Cementos Cosmos, has celebrated three accident-free years as the parent company spent in excess of EUR1m to improve the company’s health and safety record.

USA: Lehigh Cement welcomes Energy Star certificates

05 January 2016, Published under Cement News

HeidelbergCement subsidiary Lehigh Hanson has announced that several of its plants have achieved the EPA’s ENERGY STAR ® certification for 2015. Lehigh’s cement plants in Leeds (AL), Union Bridge (MD) and Glen Falls (NY) all performed within the top 25 per cent of cement plants in the USA for energy efficiency, meeting strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. This is the third-consecutive year the Union Bridge facility has received the certification and the second con...

USA: Lehigh Hanson EPA hat-trick

23 December 2015, Published under Cement News

Lehigh Hanson Inc announced that three of its cement plants have earned the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) prestigious ENERGY STAR certification for 2015. The company’s cement manufacturing plants in Leeds (AL), Union Bridge (MD) and Glens Falls (NY) perform within the top 25 per cent of cement plants nationwide for energy efficiency and meet the EPA's strict energy efficiency performance levels. This is the third-consecutive year the Union Bridge plant has received ENERGY S...

St Marys Cement modernises kiln

22 December 2015, Published under Cement News

Votorantim-owned St Marys Cement is proposing a US$130m kiln modernisation project at its Charlevoix, Michigan, USA, plant. The project will lead to lower emissions, improved efficiency and increased production. The expansion will see capacity increase from 1.4Mta to 2Mta. At present the cement producer is working through the permitting process, but it expects the upgraded pyroprocessing section to start up in 2Q2017.  “In April of 2017, we plan on starting up this new modernised kiln sys...

Optimism returns to US and wider markets

18 December 2015, Published under Cement News

This week saw the first rise in US interest rates in seven years as the US Federal Reserve signalled its belief that the economy was getting back on its feet and that the financial recovery was gaining momentum. The renewed optimism for the US economy and the prospects for greater cement consumption in the coming year is based on a more vigorous uptake of construction and housing projects. The strength of the recovery is far from certain though and financial markets will need to see contin...

US cement prices to see 8% growth in 2015

17 December 2015, Published under Cement News

Following the Great Recession when US cement prices contracted for five years, they appear to be back in the lift. In 2013-14 domestic prices increased  by five per cent YoY. In 2015, the rise is accelerating to eight per cent, according to analysts at IHS. The last time growth approached these levels was in 2005-06, when the price of cement advanced by 13 per cent. The reactivation of idled kilns, which is leading to expensive upgrades to comply with the latest NESHAP emissions rules, ...

US October shipment update – preliminary data

14 December 2015, Published under Cement News

Portland and blended cement shipments in the US and Puerto Rico amounted to 9.32Mt in October, according to preliminary data by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Of the total, imports accounted for 1.027Mt of shipments. Over the first 10 months of the year, shipments reached 77.49Mt, including 8.06Mt of imports. Clinker production in October is reported to be 6.88Mt, and for the year to date amounted to 62.82Mt.

PCA: FAST Act set to increase cement usage throughout the five-year program

11 December 2015, Published under Cement News

With the passage of a five-year federal transportation bill, cement manufacturers will see a rise in consumption, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act will provide more than US$305bn to maintain and improve the nation’s surface transportation. Cement consumption's largest impact will focus on authorisations from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). “FAST represents an average addition of 835,000t to the cement ind...

USA: Essroc’s Energy Star cement plants

09 December 2015, Published under Cement News

Essroc’s Martinsburg and Nazareth cement operations, have for the second year in a row, earned the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification. This endorsement signifies that the industrial facilities perform in the top 25 per cent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict performance levels set by the EPA. “Essroc is pleased to accept EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Jean-Paul ...