Brazil: A large report by Sindicato Nacional da Industria do Cimento (SNIC) has revealed that home consumption of cement has risen by 104% in Brazil since 2006. The report, carried out by Galanto Consultoria, showed that Brazilian families are carrying out more home improvement, resulting in a surge in demand for many building materials.

DIY consumption of cement rose from US$14m in 2002-2003 to US$28.8m in 2008-2009. Interestingly, the use of bricks fell from 6% to 4.6%, wood from 5.7% to 3.9% and tiling from 6.4% to 5.9% of total materials used over the same period. The president of SNIC, Jose Otavio Carvalho, said that DIY applications now represent 18.23% of the total consumption of cement in Brazil.

Overall cement consumption in Brazil has risen by 34% to U$1.7bn in 2011, up from US$1.3bn in 2006. The major regional consumer is the south east with a 40.2% share followed by the north east with a 25.5% share of national consumption.

SNIC estimates that Brazil produced 63.6Mt of cement in 2011, just shy of national demand of 64.6Mt. Imports made up the shortfall. The industry's installed capacity was estimated at 78Mt/yr at the end of 2011, with SNIC predicting an increase to 111Mt/yr by the end of 2015.