Displaying items by tag: Shipments

Argentina: Cement shipments remained below pandemic and pre-pandemic levels in October 2024, which marked the sixth decline so far in 2024, according to Clarion newspaper. October 2024 saw shipments down by 20% year-on-year and 1.1% month-on-month, according to the Portland Cement Manufacturing Association (AFCP). In October 2024, sales dropped to 907,421t. 7.9Mt of cement was sold in the first 10 months of 2024 compared to 10.7Mt in the same period in 2023. Consumption also suffered a year-on-year decrease of 20% ​​and a monthly decline of 1.3%. The industry attributes the downturn primarily to a halt in national public works, as well as rising costs such as taxes on limestone and quarry exploitation fees.

Damián Altgelt, executive director of AFCP, said "The cement sector is going through a difficult year, with a drop of close to 25% compared to 2023. We confidently hope that the macroeconomic measures that the government is undertaking will allow us to overcome this transition period soon and recover the highest levels of activity again. In the past four months we have seen around 0.9Mt of cement sold (per month), which is clearly higher than the very depressed levels we had in the first half of 2024.”

Philippines: Davao International Container Terminal (DICT) has entered into a joint venture with Philcement to construct a dedicated berth for cement and cementitious material shipments in Davao, reports Port Calls magazine. It will oversee the construction of a 200-metre bulk terminal at berth five. Construction will commence in November 2024 and operation is expected by mid-2026. The terminal is valued at US$12.5m and will handle 2Mt/yr of cement for distribution across Mindanao, with shipping to other parts of the country being considered. Additional equipment and construction costs for a cement terminal are estimated at around US$41m.

US: Shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the US and Puerto Rico in July 2023 came to an estimated 9.3Mt, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The figure was 2.1% lower than in July 2022, when 9.5Mt of cement was shipped. Of the total blended volume reported in July 2023, 4.9Mt (98%) was estimated to be Portland-limestone cement.

US-wide shipments for the January 2023 to July 2023 period came to 60.4Mt, a 2% decrease from 61.7Mt reported in the same period of 2022. The leading producing states for Portland and blended cement in July 2023 were, in descending order: Texas; Missouri; California; Florida; and Michigan. Together these five states accounted for 39% of all cement produced in the country during the month. The leading cement-consuming states were, in descending order: Texas; California; Florida; Georgia; and Ohio. Together these states jointly received 38% of all shipments in July 2023.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico says that its supply of cement to the government’s Tren Maya railway project is 170,000t/month. This corresponds to 50 – 60% of its total production volumes. Local press has reported that construction of the 1500km-long Tren Maya railway will consume 1Mm³ of concrete. Holcim supplied its cement for Sections 1 – 3 of the line between 2020 and 2022. It is currently supplying Section 5, which is 50% complete. The cement comes from the company’s Orizaba, Veracruz, plant; its Macuspana, Tabasco, plant and its Mérida, Yucatán, plant.

Holcim Mexico’s infrastructure development manager Fernando Roldan said "Our participation has been a challenge, but the relationship we have with the suppliers and with the construction companies in charge of the railway has allowed us to meet the requirements."

US: Data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the US and Puerto Rico came to an estimated 10.5Mt in June 2023, a slight decrease compared to June 2022. Of the total volume of blended cement reported in June 2023, 4.7Mt (95%) was estimated to be portland-limestone cement (PLC).

For the first six months of 2023, shipments reached an estimated 51.0Mt, a slight decrease from those for the same period in 2022. The leading producing states in June 2023 were, in descending order: Texas; Missouri; California; Michigan; and Florida. These states accounted for 40% of cement produced. The leading cement-consuming states, again in descending order, were: Texas; California; Florida; Ohio; and Illinois. They jointly received 37% of all June 2023 shipments.