Cement News tagged: International
Colombia sees 3.6% market expansion
Cement consumption in Colombia increased 3.6 per cent from 993,700t in October 2016 to 1,029,400t in October 2017, according the country’s statistics office, DANE. The rise has been attributed to increased retail sales (+5.4 per cent) and off-take by construction companies and contractors (+5.6 per cent). Sales to concrete companies slipped by 4.1 per cent. In terms of departmental sale...
New 7Mta cement facility planned in Tanzania
Tanzania is expected to see the construction of a new 7Mta cement plant as part of a two-phase US$2.35bn Chinese investment over 10 years that will also include the building of a coal-fired power station. Some US$1bn will be invested in a new cement works in the first five years of the initiative, according to the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC). Sinoma and Hengya Cement’s new plant is expe...
New 2500tpd plant to be built in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has formerly agreed that the construction of a cement plant with a capacity of 2500tpd to be built by Hong Kong company Sino-Harbor Construction Group in the Aktyubinsk region of the country. The announcement was made by the Azernews website.
Pakistani cement industry reaches 93% utilisation rate
The first four months of FY17-18 have seen robust growth in Pakistani cement demand and as a result, the cement industry’s capacity utilisation rate has risen to over 93 per cent, the highest in the last two decades, according to industry specialists. Cement demand in the North Zone remained high against expectations, reaching 3.148Mt in October and breaching for the first time the 3Mt mark...
Kenyan producers to cut cement prices
Cement companies intend to lower their prices and achieve regional competitiveness following the reduction in local off-peak power prices. President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive issued last Tuesday took effect at midnight (1 December). Under the directive, manufacturers will have their electricity consumption during the low peak period between 22-06h period halved. Savannah and National Cemen...
Vietnam sees 7% rise in output in 11M17
Vietnam produced 77.9Mt of cement in the first 11 months of this year, representing a 6.6 per cent rise YoY, according to the latest data from the government-run General Statistics Office. In November alone, 8.9Mt of cement were produced. In 10M17 69Mt of cement left Vietnam’s cement plants. In 2016, domestic output stood at 78.6Mt, including 7.3Mt in December.
Tajikistan and Pakistan discuss ways to improve trade relations
Representatives from Tajikistan and Pakistan have discussed ways to improve trade relations for the mutual benefit of both countries, with the cement industry identified as a potential area of cooperation. Jononov Sherali, Ambassador of Tajikistan, said that the geographical locations of both countries offer as-yet untapped opportunities for working together, during a meeting with the Islam...
Secret of future cement strength lies in sea urchins?
Research carried out by the University of Konstanz, Germany, has helped to develop a cement that is resistant to fractures. The research highlighted that while the spines of sea urchins are made mainly of calcite, a very brittle and fragile material, the way nature optimises the “brick and mortar”-style architecture gives the spines additional strength. The guiding principle is to alternat...
US cement market stable in September
Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the USA remained stable YoY at around 8.75Mt in September 2017, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The five largest cement markets in the US were Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois (in descending order) and their demand accounted for around 36 per cent of domestic shipments.The leading producing states were Texas, Misso...
Concern over latest Philippine export rule
Ernesto Ordoñez, director for quality enforcement at the Philippine Safety and Quality Foundation, has said the group holds concerns over the latest administrative order released by the Department of Trade and Industry. The order allows pre-shipment testing of cement imports. Therefore, the inspection of the product can be completed at the point of origin, followed up by a verification proc...
Kazakhstan cement price rises 6%
In October Kazakhstan the average price of a 50kg bag of M400 cement reached KZT1252 (US$3.79), a 0.3 per cent MoM rise and an increase of 5.7 per cent when compared with the year-ago period. By comparison, the annual inflation rate in the country was 7.7 per cent. The highest prices for cement in Kazakh key cities were reported in Uralsk (KZT1609/bag, +12.5 per cent YoY) and Atyrau (KZT1525...
Pakistan sees 31% YoY rise in exports in October 2017
The export revenue of the cement industry in Pakistan fell 18.57 per cent YoY throughout the July-October 2017 period, to PKR9.05bn (US$85.97m) from PKR11.12bn. The volume of cement exported also decreased by 16.6 per cent in the same period, to 1.7Mt from 2.03Mt of the year-ago period. Exports to Afghanistan recorded an increase of 15.41 per cent YoY to 885,967t. However, exports to India s...
Evergreen Holdings to build new plant in Uzbekistan
Evergreen Holdings has initiated plans to construct a new cement plant in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. The South Korean company will complete the project in several stages according to the demand of cement in Uzbekistan and neighbouring countries, reports Trend News Agency. The total capacity of the five operational cement plants in Uzbekistan is over 8.5Mta. However, the country hopes t...
Moroccan demand stable in October
Cement demand in Morocco edged up 0.3 per cent in October 2017 to 1,320,030t from 1,316,225t in October 2016, according to data by the country's Ministry of Housing and Urbanisation. Market expansion was particularly strong in Laâyoune-Sakia Elhamra, where demand increased 44.8 per cent to 32,792t in October 2017 from 22,644t in October 2016, and in Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab, which saw consumpt...
Fire breaks out at GCC Dacotah cement plant
A fire broke out at the GCC Dacotah cement plant in Rapid City (SD), USA, early Tuesday morning but was quickly extinguished by the local Fire Department, reports Rapid City Journal. No injuries were reported and the plant did not sustain any significant damage. The fire originated from the building in which the coal was stored, therefore the fast response of the emergency services was essent...
Cement sales in Puerto Rico down 47% in October
Cement sales in Puerto Rico fell 47.1 per cent in October 2017 when compared with the previous year as result of the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Cement sales have been declining since 2013 and fell by 12.3 per cent in 2016. Output from domestic cement plants has fallen by 52.9 per cent YoY in 2017, reflecting an acceleration of production contraction from 11.5 per cent in 2016.