Displaying items by tag: Terminal

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that Taiheiyo Cement’s US$67m Luzon Distribution Terminal, which will supply up to 0.7Mt/yr of cement to Luzon, will begin operations in early 2026. The plant will use a high proportion of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), including fly ash, slags and natural pozzolans.

Taiheiyo Cement has said that the terminal represents the Japan-based company’s long-term commitment to the Philippine cement market and that it is aware of recent DTI rules that aim to safeguard domestic cement producers.

UK: Medcem, a subsidiary of Turkish conglomerate Eren Holding, and UK-based Peel Ports Group will begin construction of a new deep-water cement terminal at the former P&O site at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool. Construction is scheduled to start at the end of May 2025, according to Construction Management magazine.

The €41m project’s first phase will include four silos with a combined capacity of 45,000t for cement and supplementary cementitious materials. The 2.3-hectare site allows for future expansion and increased capacity in subsequent phases. Completion is expected by mid-2026.

Medcem business development and investments director Enver Celikbas said “This new terminal significantly strengthens our presence in the UK market, consolidating our position as the leading provider of low-carbon cement and cementitious materials in Europe. The logistical advantages of Liverpool allow us to enhance our ability to accommodate large vessels and product handling.”

US: Heidelberg Materials North America is upgrading its Cementon cement distribution terminal in New York. The producer will build a new packaging line with a 200t/hr Haver & Boecker rotary packing machine and a fully-automated Beumer palletising system. It will also expand its cement storage silos in order to support the growth of its bulk cement sales.

US: Eco Material Technologies has announced the opening of the Blissville Rail Terminal in Queens, New York. The new terminal will enable Eco Material to distribute approximately 50,000t/yr of fly ash from its national network to support local infrastructure projects in the New York metro area. The terminal will utilise rail transportation to deliver fly ash and cementitious materials, which the company says can replace up to 25% of carbon-intensive Portland cement in standard concrete mixes, with Eco Material's technologies reportedly allowing for up to 100% replacement in select applications.

"The opening of the Blissville Terminal is a major step in our efforts to expand access to low-carbon cement alternatives in all major metro areas, " said Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies. "By strengthening our presence in New York, we can better serve future infrastructure projects with innovative materials that reduce reliance on traditional Portland cement and imported steel slag.”

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a 3.35Mt/yr brownfield clinker line and one of two 2.7Mt/yr cement mills at its Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh. The second grinding mill will be commissioned in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year. The producer also commissioned brownfield expansions at its Dhule grinding unit in Maharashtra (1.2Mt/yr) and Durgapur grinding unit in West Bengal (0.6Mt/yr), and launched its first bulk terminal in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, with a handling capacity of 1.8Mt/yr.

“Consequent to the above, the company’s total domestic grey cement manufacturing capacity stands at 183.36Mt/yr. Along with its overseas capacity of 5.4Mt/yr, the company’s global capacity stands at 188.76Mt/yr,” UltraTech Cement said.

The Pacific Cement Corporation (PACEMCO) held a groundbreaking ceremony this week officially ‘reopening’ its cement plant in Surigao City. The revival of the plant has been supported by investments by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Various dignitaries attended the event including John Paul Ang, the chief operating officer of SMC, the mayor of Surigao City mayor and the governor of Surigao del Norte.

The plant has been closed since 2014 due to financial problems. At the time, Global Cement reported that the cement plant stopped operations in May 2014 after the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative cut its power supply for unsettled debts worth at least US$0.5m. PACEMCO was originally set up in 1967 and the plant had a production capacity of 0.22Mt/yr via one production line in 2014.

Earlier in March 2025 the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was keen to highlight the efforts that Taiheiyo Cement Philippines (TCP) is making towards supporting the country's infrastructure capacity. Company executives met with the DTI and revealed plans including building a distribution terminal in Calaca, Batangas with the aim of targeting the Luzon market. This follows the construction of a new US$220m production line at TCP’s San Fernando plant in Cebu in July 2024.

Both announcements follow the implementation in late February 2025 of a provisional tariff on cement imports. The DTI started investigating imports in the autumn of 2024 and later decided to initiate a ‘preliminary safeguard measure’ following the discovery of a “causal link between the increased imports of the products under consideration and serious injury to the domestic industry.” The tariff takes the form of a cash bond of US$6.95/t or US$0.28/40kg bag of cement. It will be in place for 200 days, to mid-September 2025, while the Philippine Tariff Commission conducts a final investigation. The two main countries that will be affected are Vietnam and Japan. A large number of countries are exempt from the tariff including, notably, China and Indonesia. Both of these two countries were larger sources of imports to the Philippines during the five-year period the DTI is investigating. However, imports from these places have declined since 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Graph 1: Import of cement to the Philippines, 2019 - 2024. Source: Department of Trade and Industry.

A preliminary report by the DTI published in late February 2025 outlines the reasons for the provisional tariff. In summary it found that imports rose from 2019 and 2024 and the share of imports increased also pushing down the domestic share of sales. In the view of the report, the domestic cement sector experienced declining sales, production, capacity utilisation, profitability and employment for each year apart from 2021. One point to note is that the imports were split roughly 50:50 between local and foreign companies. Local company Philcement, for example, was the largest importer for cement to the Philippines from 2019 to 2024. In its statement to the DTI it said that it had invested in manufacturing the processing sites in the country. It argued that overprotection of the market discouraged competition and might not be aligned with the economic goals of the country.

Last time Global Cement Weekly covered the Philippines (GCW669) in July 2024 it looked likely that the government would take further action on imports. This has now happened on a temporary basis but it looks likely that it will become permanent. Recent investment announcements from local producers such as PACEMCO and TCP may be coincidental but they suggest a tentative confidence in the local sector.

UK: Cimpor is expanding into the UK following a change in ownership in 2024 and new capital investment. Cimpor registered Cimpor UK Limited in April 2024 with an office in Cheadle and has invested €20-25m in a terminal at the port of Bristol. It plans to expand its product range in the UK in the coming years.

Cimpor Global chief technology officer Berkan Fidan said “With the ports and terminals we own and operate, we leverage our export globally, strengthening our supply chain and continuing to explore new market opportunities.”

Philippines: Taiheiyo Cement Philippines has informed the government of its plans to improve its distribution system in Luzon, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

The company has doubled the capacity of its US$224m Cebu facility from 50,000 bags/day to 100,000 bags/day. Additionally, it is constructing a distribution terminal in Calaca, Batangas, to better serve Luzon, which accounts for 64% of national cement demand.

"Once operational, this new facility will streamline logistics, optimise supply chain efficiency and ensure timely delivery of cement to this critical region," the DTI said.

UK: The first shipment of bulk cementitious materials has arrived at Aggregate Industries’ new deep-sea cement terminal in Southampton.

Cementitious materials are conveyed pneumatically into the terminal’s new warehouse. The facility, developed under a €7.2m investment, is reportedly the UK’s fastest cement discharging terminal, unloading 1t of cement every five seconds. The project began in March 2024 and was completed with the arrival of the Nacc Indian Cement Carrier, marking the terminal’s operational launch.

India: Kaushalya Logistics has commenced operations at its new depot in Amritsar, Punjab, Reuters has reported. The facility will serve JK Cement’s regional distribution operations.