Displaying items by tag: US

Puerto Rico: Total cement sales in Puerto Rico fell by 11.1% year-on-year in May 2019, to stand at 1.21 million 42.5kg bags (51,425t). Cement sales have been contracting since February 2019, after 13 consecutive increases. Meanwhile, domestic cement production plunged by 33.1% year-on-year, to stand at 1 million bags, representing the fourth consecutive fall.

US: Terex MPS has launched the TG series of cone crushers as part of its Cedarapids range. The bronze bushing spider bearing cone product is intended to complement the company’s MVPX Series (screw type cone) and the TC Series (floating bowl cone).

The new spider bearing range will consist of four models focused on the aggregate and recycling industries: the TG120 (120HP); TG220 (220HP); TG320 (320HP); and TG420 (420HP). Each model is available in two versions: the TG (tertiary) and TGS (secondary). There will also be two larger models available for large capacity mining and quarrying applications: the TG820 (820HP) and the TG1020 (1020HP).

Talk of US tariffs on imports from Mexico was not troubling the National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM) this week. Director general Yanina Navarro pointed out to local media that Mexico only exports 1.42Mt or 3.4% of its total production of 44Mt/yr to its northern neighbour. This is a little higher than the 1.04Mt reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2018, although that figure is believed to have underestimated imports to El Paso district in Texas. Mexico was the fifth largest exporter of hydraulic cement and clinker to the US behind Canada, Turkey, China and Greece.

Commentators pointed out that Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) might be affected more that other Mexican producers as two of its plants are close to the border at Samalayuca and Juárez in Chihuahua. However, GCC operates five plants in the US. Cemex also has a plant near the US border at Ensenada in Baja California. Yet it’s the fourth largest producer in the US by integrated production capacity. If either company had its export markets seriously disrupted by any border duties they could likely focus on production in the US to compensate.

Once again this is similar to the situation with the proposed border wall where, although President Donald Trump wanted Mexico to pay, it would have been Mexican companies benefiting the most from any construction boom. This was also the case with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The international structure of many of the larger Mexican cement producers insulates them from these kinds of political and trade disputes.

Mexican producers shouldn’t be too complacent though. Tariffs are likely to play havoc with integrated supply chains as in the car industry. Building materials will probably be affected less so but that 1.42Mt export figure is more than the production capacity of many individual Mexican cement plants. Taking away this export market will drag on the industry’s utilisation rate and alternate destinations may be hard to find. Note the trouble Mexico has had distributing its products in Peru. The Supreme Court there upheld a fine this week on UNACEM for trying to block the distribution of Cemex’s brand of cement in 2014. Also, although Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products may not have much of an impact on building materials, USGS data shows that Chinese imports of cement to the US fell by 27% year-on-year to 0.76Mt in the six months to the end of February 2019. Similar reductions could await Mexico’s exporters.

The general consensus from the free market press is that tariffs will ultimately hurt both economies. In agreement the Portland Cement Association (PCA) published a market report in April 2018 on the effects of tariffs on US cement consumption in the wake of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico. The summary was that all forms of tariff – from minor to a global trade war – would likely result in reduced US cement consumption to varying degrees due to slower economic growth. A full-scale set of tariffs on Mexican imports is likely to induce similar consequences.

US: CalPortland has been awarded a US$0.34m grant by the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) as a partner in the replacement of a 1987 Trackmobile with a 2019 Rail King RK330 railcar mover at its Oro Grande cement plant in California. The new machine has been chosen to reduce its air emissions in accordance with the California Clean Air Act.

US: Mississippi Lime has declared a force majeure event due to flooding by the Mississippi River caused by ‘significant’ precipitation in the central US. The flooding has impacted the lime producer’s distribution and supply capabilities. This is expected to cause delays in supplying products to customers and will incur additional costs that it will pass through as a surcharge. The company added that, despite this, the flooding has not affected production.

Flooding on the Mississippi River forced the closure of Mississippi Lime’s barge loading facilities in early May 2019 and an alternate barge loading facility later in the month. The company does not anticipate re-opening its facility until the flood waters recede to a safe level, possibly in late June 2019. In the meantime the closure of flood gates near the company’s Ste Genevieve, Missouri unit has forced the company to use an alternate rail route with reduced shipment capacity, additional transit time and higher cost for both inbound and outbound shipments. Mississippi Lime anticipates resuming rail shipments in late June 2019, depending on weather conditions.

US: The Netherlands Verder Group has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based Microtrac and Japan’s MicrotracBEL from Nikkiso. Verder's Scientific Division will extend its product portfolio with product lines for particle characterisation by laser diffraction, dynamic light scattering and surface analysis.

“With Microtrac and MicrotracBEL two technological leaders in particle and surface analysis are united under the roof of Verder Scientific. We look forward to welcoming the Microtrac and MicrotracBEL teams to our group. Both companies will have access to additional resources to push international expansion and extend its innovative product range”, said Jürgen Pankratz, chief executive officer (CEO) of Verder Scientific.

Microtrac is a manufacturer of instruments for particle analysis that use laser diffraction and dynamic light scattering technologies. The instruments are used both for industrial applications and material research. Microtrac has two units in the US at Montgomeryville and York in Pennsylvania

MicrotracBEL is a manufacturer of instruments for surface area and porosity analysis applying adsorption technologies. The instruments are used in research intense fields for particle characterisation. MicrotracBEL has three units in Japan based in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya.

Microtrac and MicrotracBEL will maintain their headquarters in the US and Japan respectively and these locations will also be used to support further expansion of the Verder Group. The existing Mictrotrac and MicrotracBEL management team will continue to be in charge. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

Mexico/US: Yanina Navarro, the general director of the National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM), says that Mexican cement producers are not worried by US tariffs on imports. Mexico exports 1.42Mt or 3.4% of its total production of 44Mt/yr to its neighbour, according to the EL Financiero newspaper. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) placed Mexico at the fifth largest exporter of cement to the US after Canada, Turkey, China and Greece.

Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) could be affected more than other Mexican producers by any tariffs as 17% of its production is exported to the US. Mainly this covers production from plants at Samalayuca and Juárez in Chihuahua. Hoevever, GCC operates five plants in the US, which would enable it to reduce the potential negative affects of tariffs.

US: Dragon Products’ Thomaston cement plant in Maine restarted production in early May 2019. A fire damaged the unit in late March 2019, according to the Penobscot Bay Pilot. Plant employees and contractors spent six weeks repairing and replacing building structures, conduit and wires, motors, gearboxes, bearings, material transport equipment and other equipment.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and other trade associations from the concrete and steel sector have urged that Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, review the use of government funds on projects that use wood as a building material. The American Concrete Pumping Association, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Iron and Steel Institute, California Construction and Industrial Materials Association, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, National Concrete Masonry Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association, Steel Framing Industry Association, Steel Manufacturers Association and the PCA expressed disappointment that the Department of Agriculture had awarded over US$8.9m for 29 projects designed to expand markets for wood products, particularly mass timber, for building construction.

The industry associations acknowledged the increase in cross laminated timber (CLT) projects in the US but they said they were concerned about the use of CLT on a large scale. They said that the grants unfairly promoted one building material at the expense of another.

Greece: Titan Group’s turnover has benefited from the US market and growth in southeastern Europe. Its turnover grew by 12.5% year-on-year to Euro363m in the first quarter of 2019 from Euro323m in the same period in 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 1.9% to Euro44.3m from Euro43.5m. It blamed its limited earnings growth on ‘challenging’ conditions in Turkey and Egypt.