September 2024
UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has described first-quarter building materials demand as ‘resilient’ in 2021 despite renewed coronavirus lockdown restrictions, on-going supply chain disruptions and wet winter weather. Following a recent survey the association says that continued housing activity – with increased home improvements – and an acceleration in infrastructure work, driven by a new roads programme and the start of the HS2 high-speed railway, drove minor growth during the quarter. Ready-mix concrete demand rose by 2% year-on-year, while mortar demand fell by 7% during the period. The MPA said that both products are mostly used in the early stages of construction, thus serving as a barometer for construction activity ahead in the short term.
The MPA reports that since September 2020, construction growth has remained close to zero, whilst new contract awards have been ’weak’ since May 2020. The downward trend of housing-led mortar demand in the first quarter of 2021 continues a pre-pandemic decline since mid-2018. Thus, housing activity growth is considered unlikely to continue beyond the completion of existing projects ahead of the end of a land tax holiday and a deadline in a first time buyers loan scheme. The MPA described the slow growth of ready-mixed concrete demand as ‘concerning.’ Low housing activity and few new commercial projects compounded the difficult recovery: non-infrastructure projects normally generate 60% of demand. Ready-mix concrete producers rely on London and the South East region for over 30% of sales. First-quarter volumes were 9% below the previous five-year average, despite three consecutive quarters of growth since the first coronavirus lockdown in the first half of 2020.
Director of Economics Affairs Aurelie Delannoy said, “Mineral products manufacturers are busy supplying post- lockdown pent-up demand, particularly for domestic activity such as landscaping, repair and maintenance and home improvements, as well as infrastructure projects.” She added “The outlook for this year and next is also positive, but the stakes are high. Any optimism assumes activity is not disrupted by renewed outbreaks of Covid-19 and, most importantly, relies on the government delivering on its planned infrastructure commitments. MPA members tell us they are yet to see a more clear-cut pick-up in new house building, whilst any recovery in commercial development is expected to remain muted given the current reticence for major new investments.”
South Korea: A man has died in hospital after a crane collapsed onto him while working at SsangYong C&E’s Donghae cement plant in Gangwon province on 14 May 2021. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that the man worked for a construction company contracted by the cement producer. Police are investigating the incident.
Greece: The consolidated revenues of the Titan Cement Group came to Euro371m in the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of 4% compared to the first quarter of 2020. The company said that the decline was due in part to the weakness of the US Dollar and currencies linked to it. It said that organic growth was solid, with revenue rising by 3% in local currency terms.
During the first quarter of 2021, Titan’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 38% to Euro56.1m compared to Euro40.6m in the same period of 2020. However, Titan noted that deferred maintenance costs, which will now be reflected in the second quarter of 2021, would have pegged its first quarter EBITDA back by around Euro8.3m.
The group said that 2021 started positively, with robust demand in the US, particularly in March 2021. It also observed solid market trends in Southeast Europe, as well as continued favourable momentum in Greece and some improvement in the eastern Mediterranean.
All product lines showed positive trends in terms of sales volumes. The group's cement and clinker sales increased by 3%, supported by increased demand in most markets. Ready-mixed concrete and aggregate sales volumes increased by 1% and 3% respectively.
UK faces short-term cement shortage 14 May 2021
UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has warned of the likelihood of a short-term shortage of cement. It identified the cause of a probable shortage as the rise in construction leading to record cement demand. Bagged cement, of which the industry delivers 12.0Mt/yr, is most at risk of running out. The Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported that domestic projects are rising most sharply due to the deployment of the Euro232bn of costs saved during coronavirus lockdowns, and the recommencement of suspended projects from the same periods.
MPA chief executive officer Nigel Jackson said “We appear to be coming out of this period of Covid-19 lockdowns; the roadmap is on course; people's confidence and optimism is growing. A lot of people have been confined to their homes and taken the decision to invest in improving because they're not moving.”
Mexico: Cemex has partnered with UK-based oil company BP to accelerate the progress of its ambition for net-zero CO2 concrete by 2050. The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop cement production and transport decarbonisation solutions. Such solutions include the transition to reduced-emissions power and vehicles, energy efficiency-improvements, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon offsetting. In addition, the companies will collaborate on urbanisation solutions to decarbonise cities.
Sustainability, commercial, and operations development executive vice president Juan Romero said “Concrete plays an integral role in society, and there are no substitutes for its key attribute – strength and resilience. We believe it will continue to have a critical role in a low carbon economy, and the challenge for the industry is to find solutions to the manufacturing process emissions.” He added “This initiative with BP is another example of the work we are doing with partners across industries, academia, and startups to tap into the latest innovation and disruptive technology to achieve our ambition of delivering net-zero CO2 concrete globally to all of our customers.”
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Schweiz’s Eclépens cement plant generated 443,000kWh of energy via its waste heat recovery (WHR) plant in April 2021. The company said that the energy was enough to power 1000 households for the month. The figure brings the plant’s four-month 2021 total energy generation to over 1,000,000kWh. The producer said that the positive trend puts it on course to achieve its annual target of 4,000,000kWh in 2021.
India: Birla Corporation’s board of directors has approved the issuance of up to US$27.3m-worth of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The Telegraph newspaper has reported that the company will issue the NCDs in one or more tranches before May 2022.
Malayan Cement to acquire YTL Cement’s Malaysian cement and ready-mix concrete operations 14 May 2021
Malaysia: Malayan Cement has agreed to acquire YTL Cement’s cement and ready-mix concrete operations in Malaysia. MarketLine News has reported the value of the deal as US$1.25bn.
France: Hoffman Green Cement Technologies has supplied cement for Groupe GCC’s construction of a new secondary school in Aizenay, Vendée department. The Le Moniteur newspaper has reported that the cement will be used in concrete features of the Level-3 Biobased building. Groupe GCC will supply other elements made of wood. The project is the first use of Hoffman Green Cement Technologies’ products in a public building.
Japan: Taiheiyo Cement recorded full-year consolidated net sales of US$7.89bn in its 2021 financial year to 31 March 2021, down by 2% year-on-year from US$8.07bn in the 2020 financial year. The group’s net profit rose by 20% to US$427m from US$357m. Domestic cement sales volumes fell by 4.8% to 13.8Mt and exports sales dropped by 2.2% to 3.8Mt. The cement producer attributed this to falling local demand for cement since June 2020 due to the suspension of construction work in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It also noted a shortage of construction workers.