Displaying items by tag: Ube Industries
Cement producers to boost shipping capacity in Japan
08 January 2014Japan: Cement producers in Japan aim to upgrade their shipping fleets following brisk demand from the reviving construction industry. Three cement producers are expected to spend more than US$95m to acquire new and used vessels in early 2014 according to Nikkei Report. Roughly 70% of cement is moved by sea in Japan.
SumitomoOsaka Cement will spend US$65m, first adding a large ship that can carry 8000t in February 2013 and then purchasing two 2000t ships and one 5500t ship after April 2015. Following the decommissioning of three ships the company will expand its fleet to 20 ships with a combined capacity of 93,000t in 2015 from 19 vessels with a capacity of 82,000t in 2013.
Ube-Mitsubishi Cement plans to start using three new large ships, each with a capacity of roughly 7000 - 12,000t, from February 2014. The company is expected to spend about US$14m on the additions, two of which will be newly built and the other rented.
Taiheiyo Cement will add three large ships for about US$19m in 2014 or later.
Japanese cement producer reduced their shipping fleets following declines in the market in the early 1990s. A reversal of this trend has been attributed to growing construction in large cities, rebuilding after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and an anticipated rise in demand ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ube plans first new mine in 35 years
04 April 2013Japan: Ube Industries Ltd has announced that it will develop a large limestone mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture in anticipation of a further recovery in domestic demand for cement in Japan. The company will likely invest US$84m in what would be its first mine development in 35 years. Production is slated to kick off around 2017. Ube plans to operate the mine, which has estimated reserves of some 300Mt, for about 40 years.
Of the company's three domestic cement plants, two mainstay facilities in Yamaguchi have been procuring limestone from a mine near the new site. This existing mine, which produces 8Mt/yr of limestone, has been dug as deep as 140m and has been in production since 1948. High costs from deep mining prompted the company to look for a new site.
After sinking at one point to as low as 40Mt/yr, half of 1990 levels, Japanese cement demand has recently rebounded due to the reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. This trend will likely continue for a while, as efforts to repair and update ageing infrastructure are expected to pick up while reconstruction projects go on.
The Japan Cement Association estimates domestic demand in the current year (to March 2014) will grow by 3.4% year-on-year to 46Mt. Taiheiyo Cement Corporation and other cement makers are also gearing up to boost domestic supplies by curbing exports and taking other measures.