Displaying items by tag: Americas

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has issued a statement following the US government’s announcement of proposed 25% tariffs on imports of cement from Canada and Mexico. The association lauded President Donald Trump’s stated goal of protecting the US cement industry, while also calling for careful consideration of measures to be taken.

President and CEO Mike Ireland said “While the US cement industry agrees with the President’s objectives of bolstering American manufacturing, increasing border security, and advancing the country’s energy independence, the industry believes 25% tariffs on cement imported from Canada and Mexico could adversely affect energy and national security while delaying infrastructure projects and raising their costs.” Ireland continued “The availability of affordable cement and concrete is vital to meet our country’s infrastructure needs and for the oil and gas sector’s expansion. Mexico and Canada play a crucial role in stabilizing US supply, so we appreciate that the administration is open to negotiations and taking a flexible approach to implementing trade policy.”

Mexico: The Mexican National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM) has warned that the US government’s proposed reimposition of a 25% tariff on imports of cement from Mexico may trigger a ‘competitiveness crisis’ in the US, with dire consequences for North America as a whole. Mexico exported 1.5Mt of cement to the US in 2024. This corresponds to 7% of US cement imports and 1.4% of the country’s total consumption. The El Norte newspaper has reported that CANACEM sees the current situation as an opportunity for Mexican and US policymakers and stakeholders to increase their mutually beneficial initiatives, citing the example of a proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on a region-wide scale.

CANACEM president José María Barroso said "In addition to incentivising more sustainable production, this would promote greater integration and strengthen the regional market. The Mexican cement industry is ready to work with our government and our trade partners to find solutions that promote greater regional integration."

Canada: St Marys Cement, Votorantim Cimentos’ North American subsidiary, has ordered SpectraFlow Analytics’ Airslide analyser for its Bowmanville cement plant in Ontario. The analyser will replace the plant’s existing XRF Atline system installed at the back end of the plant’s 450t/hr raw materials mill. It will provide continuous one-minute sampling results, without the need to prepare samples separately. This in turn will facilitate real-time adjustments to the line’s additive weight feeders.

SpectraFlow Analytics says that its equipment will now be installed at plants across 30 countries globally.

US: Holcim’s CEO Miljan Gutovic says he does not expect any effects of proposed US tariffs upon his company. "I don't really see any impact, because our business is a local business (in the US)," said Gutovic in an interview with Reuters. "We are producing locally, we are sourcing the equipment, the spare parts locally, so how is this going to affect us? I do not see it." He added that the proposed tariffs were also unlikely to pose any problems to the group’s planned spin-off of its business in the US. The listing of its North America-based business is remains scheduled for the first half of 2025.

The US government proposed tariffs upon imported goods from Canada and Mexico in early February 2025 but these have been paused for one month. Tariffs on China are set to start on 4 February 2025. US President Donald Trump has also spoken about implementing tariffs on the EU.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has signed a binding agreement with Giant Cement’s multiple minority shareholders to acquire the producer outright. Noticias Financieras News has reported that Heidelberg Materials North America will pay approximately US$600m for the business. Giant Cement is scheduled to fully shut its Thomaston, Maine, cement plant in early 2025.

Giant Cement belongs to Spain-based Cementos Portland Valderrivas, with a 45% stake, Mexico-based Cementos Fortaleza (41%) and Mexico-based Trituradora y Procesadora de Materiales Santa Anita (14%).

US: Eagle Materials raised its sales in the first nine months of 2024, by under 1%, to US$1.79bn. Its profit also grew by under 1%, to US$569m. However, sales by its Heavy Materials Sector, which includes its cement, concrete and aggregates businesses, declined by 4% to US$352m. Cement revenue for the quarter was also down by 4% to US$295m, reflecting lower cement sales volume and increase in cement maintenance costs due to the planned outages at the company’s Oklahoma and Texas cement plants during the quarter. Cement sales volumes decreased by 7% to 1.7Mt.

President and CEO Michael Haack praised the company’s overall growth in the face of ‘ongoing adverse weather’ in the Midwest and Great Plains markets, which reportedly affected sales volume of the company’s cement business. He said “While the path to lower interest rates and improved home-buying affordability is less certain today, we remain optimistic about our businesses and our ability to execute on the opportunities in front of us. On the cement side, spending from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is still in the beginning phases, which should support multiple years of strong cement demand.”

Dominican Republic: Cementos Progreso Holdings has acquired Cemex’s operations in the Dominican Republic, as well as the company’s export business in Haiti. The deal was first announced in August 2024, and has now been completed, having met all legal requirements. The company said that it will retain the 500 existing staff, in order to continue ‘offering products and services of the highest quality.’ Cementos Progreso now operates in eight countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mexico: GCC has reported a 0.2% increase in its 2024 consolidated net sales to US$1.36bn, whilst sales in the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year declined by 1% to US$335m.

US operations showed strength, with 4% sales growth and 4.5% increase in concrete volumes in the fourth quarter. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to US$500m for 2024, with the fourth quarter showing 4% growth to US$122m.

CEO Enrique Escalante said "GCC delivered exceptional results once again in 2024. Despite navigating a challenging economic environment, we achieved record-breaking sales, EBITDA, margins and net income. These results underscore our team’s flexibility and agility to successfully execute our strategy. Looking ahead, we remain cautious about demand dynamics. The fundamentals of our business remain strong, especially in the US market where we generated more than 75% of our EBITDA.”

US: Titan Cement has announced that its subsidiary, Titan America, has launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 24 million common shares, comprising 9 million new shares to be issued and 15 million existing shares to be sold. The IPO is expected to price between US$15-18 per share.

Following completion, Titan Cement will retain 160,362,465 shares, representing 87% ownership of Titan America.

Colombia: Cementos Argos has obtained third-party verification for an environmental product declaration (EPD) for the Type VII cement produced at its Cartagena plant.

Tomás Restrepo, vice president of Cementos Argos, said "This certificate validates our efforts to reduce environmental impacts, optimise resources and offer a high-quality material that responds to the needs of each of our clients' projects.”