Displaying items by tag: data

Vietnam: Cement and clinker exports fell by 37% year-on-year to 2Mt in January 2025, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). Exports were worth US$76m, a fall of 36% year-on-year. The decline has continued a downward trend that began in early 2022, with trade barriers in key markets such as the Philippines and Taiwan restricting exports, according to local news reports. The 10% export tax on clinker, imposed in 2023, has also added to industry challenges. The Ministry of Construction submitted a report in January 2025 to the Prime Minister, warning of potential cement plant closures.

Pakistan: Cement exports rose by 5% year-on-year to US$188m in the first seven months of the 2024 financial year, while volumes increased by 35% year-on-year to 5.27Mt, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The country's cement exports grew by 40% year-on-year to US$20.6m in January 2025, but fell by 35% month-on-month from US$31.9m in December 2024. This suggests strong international demand, accompanied by short-term fluctuations in global shipments.

Kyrgyzstan: Cement production rose by 20% year-on-year to 118,000t in January 2025, according to the National Statistical Committee.

The country's cement production increased by 4% year-on-year to 3.1Mt in 2024. Cement imports rose by 120% to 0.5Mt.

Morocco: Cement sales rose by 14% month-on-month to 1.28Mt in January 2025, according to the Ministry of National Land Planning, Urbanism, Housing, and City Policy. The ministry said in its monthly report that sales directed to distribution reached 707,000t.

Spain: Cement consumption rose by 8% year-on-year to 1.13Mt in January 2025, according to the latest statistics from Oficemen. Consumption grew by 4% year-on-year to nearly 15Mt in the 12 months to January 2025. Exports increased by 12% year-on-year to 323,000t in January 2025, but fell by 5% year-on-year during the 12-month period.

General director Aniceto Zaragoza said "In this regard, we are cautiously observing the evolution of US tariff measures, as it is the fourth destination for Spanish cement exports, with 11% of the total. However, we are confident that sales to the intra-community market, in which Spain maintains a leading position, will remain stable."

Uzbekistan: Cement companies in Uzbekistan produced 16Mt of cement in 2024, according to data from the national Statistics Agency. This represents a 34% year-on-year increase from 2023, when companies produced 11.9Mt.

Alpacem said this week that it had completed its acquisition of the Fanna cement plant near Pordenone. The 0.66Mt/yr integrated plant and a number of ready-mixed concrete plants became part of the Austria-headquartered group at the start of February 2025. Alpacem now has three integrated plants, with units at Wietersdorf in Austria and Anhovo in Slovenia, in addition to Fanna.

The deal dates back to mid-2023 when Alpacem said it had signed an agreement with Buzzi. In return Buzzi was set to receive a 25% stake in Alpacem Zement Austria. Prior to this the two companies had a strategic partnership in Austria and Slovenia that dated back to 2014. At the time of the agreement Buzzi held a 25% share in each of two Alpacem subsidiaries: Salonit Anhovo in Slovenia; and W&P Cementi in Italy. The Fanna plant was originally owned by Cementizillo before it was bought by Buzzi in 2018.

Also this week, Federbeton warned that the high cost of gas would add €80m/yr to the cost of cement production. Nicola Zampella, General Manager of Federbeton and the cement association AITEC, noted that local energy costs would reduce the competitiveness of producers against imports from outside of the European Union (EU). This ties into comments Stefano Gallini, the president of Federbeton, made in December 2024 when he highlighted the growing share of imports from outside the EU.

Federbeton raised the issue in its annual report for 2023, showing that imports rose to a 19% production share in 2023. Italy produced 18.8Mt of and imported 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in 2023. This is its highest level of imports for at least a decade. Over the same period the country’s cement exports, as a share of production, have remained steady at around 10 - 11%. In 2023 Türkiye was the biggest source of imports (25%) followed by Greece (17%), Slovenia (17%), Tunisia (12%) and Algeria (10%).

Graph 1: Cement production, imports and exports in Italy, 2019 - 2023. Source: Federbeton.

It is worth recalling that the cement sector in Italy used to be larger before it started consolidating in the late 2000s. Italcementi was acquired by Germany-based Heidelberg Materials. Operations by Sacci, Cementir and Cemenzillo were all bought out too. Local cement production reached a high of 47.9Mt in 2006 before it stabilised at around 20Mt/yr from 2015 onwards.

In its preliminary results for 2024, out this week too, Buzzi reported that the construction market In Italy probably shrank in 2024 due to a poor residential housing market. However, the cement company managed to keep its local net sales stable by raising prices and focusing on exports. Despite this, it noted a drop in cement and concrete sales volumes at the end of 2024. More data on the construction market in Italy may emerge when Heidelberg Materials releases its 2024 financial results at the end of February 2025.

The backdrop to this has been a rise in gas prices in Europe towards the end of 2024 as the EU ‘emergency’ price cap finished on 31 January 2025. Around the same time the EU is preparing to reveal information on its Clean Industry Deal towards the end of February 2025. Plus, the first active phase of EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is preparing to enter into force from the start of 2026. Each of these issues has implications for the cement sector in Italy as the location associations have been highlighting. One question will be whether the Clean Industry Deal can help producers cope with mounting energy prices. Another will be whether CBAM will change the proportion of imports for countries like Italy or will the sources of the imports simply change. Plenty to consider for the year ahead.

Argentina: Cement despatches rose by 9% year-on-year to 0.84Mt in January 2025, the Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers (AFCP) has reported. This marks the first increase following 21 consecutive months of decline. The country recorded its lowest volume of cement despatches in 15 years in 2024 due to government capital expenditure cuts. In December 2024, despatches fell by 5% year-on-year, following 12 months of declines exceeding 40%.

Tajikistan: The Ministry of Industry and New Technologies has blamed falling cement production in Tajikistan on growth in production in neighbouring Uzbekistan. It also noted rising output in Afghanistan, according to Asia-Plus. Local production fell by 2% year-on-year to 4.35Mt in 2024 from 4.46Mt in 2023. Ministry data shows that exports of cement from Tajikistan dropped by 30% to 0.29Mt from 0.66Mt. In November 2024 Uzbekistan sharply increased customs clearance fees on Tajik cement to US$300/t from US$35/t.

US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on imports from Canada, China, Mexico and the European Union this week. Tariffs to Canada and Mexico were announced on 1 February 2025 and then paused for a month to allow for negotiations. Ones to China have been implemented. Tariffs to the European Union have been proposed but nothing has happened yet. What does this mean for the cement sector?

Graph 1: Imports of cement and clinker to the US. Source: USGS. Estimated data for 2024.

The data suggests that whacking 25% tariffs on cement imports from Canada and Mexico would have an impact. The US imported 26.5Mt of cement and clinker in 2023. Based on United States Geological Survey (USGS) data from January to October 2024, imports in 2024 have fallen by 8% year-on-year but they still represent a large chunk of consumption. Türkiye has been the biggest source of imports over the last five years but Canada has been the second biggest supplier. Together with Mexico, it provided over a quarter of imports in 2023. A similar share is expected in 2024. Greece, a country in the EU, has also been present in the top five importing countries to the US during this time.

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) reinforced this view. In a carefully worded statement it took pains to point out alignment with the intentions behind the tariffs, such as appreciating that the administration was open to negotiation and appeared to be flexible. However, it warned that the moves could adversely affect energy and national security, delay infrastructure projects and raise costs. It pointed out the import share from Canada and Mexico, adding that this represented nearly 7% of the US’ cement consumption. It noted which states were the main entry points for cement imports from the two countries. Finally, it highlighted the high level of consumption (36%) that imports from Canada might account for in northern states such as New York, Washington and so on. Meanwhile, Mexico’s National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM) warned that the proposed actions might trigger a ‘competitiveness crisis’ in the US.

Holcim’s CEO, by contrast, nonchalantly told Reuters that he didn’t expect any impact by tariffs on his business. Miljan Gutovic described the group’s US operations as a local business with production happening in the country and equipment and spare parts all being sourced locally. This optimistic view is likely to be influenced by the company’s impending spin-off of its US business. The listing in the US remains scheduled for the first half of 2025 with no complications expected from tariffs.

Clearly, implementing tariffs on imports of cement and clinker from Canada and Mexico could cause a shortage in the US in the short term. This, in turn, could lead to higher prices for consumers in the US. This potential effect would be pronounced in border regions that are reliant on imports. It is worth noting that a number of production lines in both Mexico and Canada have previously been mobilised to meet the export market to the US. These lines would likely be mothballed if tariffs were to be implemented, unless they could find other markets. In the medium term though, as the World Cement Association (WCA) pointed out this week, the world produces too much cement. So it looks likely that the US cement market would adjust to a new equilibrium. Taxing imports from the EU would have a similar effect. Although it seems like it would be less pronounced for the US cement market unless it was in conjunction with tariffs to Canada and Mexico. It would certainly be bad news for cement producers in Greece.

Cement producers in the US look set to benefit from tariffs as demand for their products and prices could increase. There is a risk that too sudden a change to the import market could cause adverse market effects through shortages. Many of these companies are multinational groups with headquarters in foreign countries. However, the strength of the US market compared to elsewhere has prompted some of these businesses to become more ‘American’ through listing in the US or focusing merger and acquisition activity in North America.

At this point we’re stuck in a half-way house place where import tariffs have been threatened and negotiations are pending. The relatively muted stock market reaction to the tariffs and Trump’s swiftness in enacting pauses suggest that it is brinkmanship by the US administration. If this situation continues for any length of time then it will likely have an effect all of its own. In which case don’t expect any export-focused investment by cement companies in Canada and Mexico any time soon.