Displaying items by tag: demand

Algeria: Algeria sold cement and clinker worth US$59.3m in the first 11 months of 2019 – up by from US$17.5m in the corresponding period ending 30 November 2018. The country’s 40Mt/yr-capacity cement industry serves a domestic demand of 22Mt/yr. Algeria Press Service has reported that Algeria’s key trade partners for exported cement were sub-Saharan African nations, according to former Minister for Trade Saïd Djellab.

China: Preliminary calculations from Huaxin Cement’s financial division have projected a net profit attributable to shareholders for 2019 of between US$0.88bn and US$0.95bn – an increase of 18% - 28% year-on-year from US$0.74bn. The company attributed the forecasted rise to an increase in the production and sales scale of its leading products.

China Cement Association Information Centre deputy director and Digital Cement Network CEO Chen Bailin estimated that demand will remain steady across China in 2020, according to Yicai News.

India: Market researcher Fortune Business Insights has forecasted market growth of 5.2% in the cement industry to US$463bn in 2026 from US$313bn in 2019. It conjectured that global improvements in road quality and investments in high-grade products will drive growing demand. The industry will meet this demand through advances in cement production and a reduction in the number of companies consolidating operations.

In India, the government’s ‘Housing for All by 2020’ scheme is set to kick-start consumption.

Pakistan: Producers increased second-half cement volumes in 2019 by 6.5% year-on-year to 24.8Mt from 23.2Mt between 1 July and 31 December 2018. Domestic consumption grew by just 3.5% between the two periods under comparison to 20.4Mt from 19.7Mt, causing exports to rise by 22% year-on-year to 4.38Mt in 2019’s second half from 3.56Mt one year previously. The Nation newspaper projected Pakistan’s total volumes in the financial year ending 30 June 2020 of 47Mt/yr against an installed capacity of 60Mt/yr.

India: Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty has announced an infrastructure-spending plan consisting of US$102tn expenditure before 30 April 2025. Iran Daily has reported that this includes an investment of US$13.6tn in the 12 months to 30 April 2019 - up by 36% from US$10.0tn in the previous 12 months to 30 April 2018. 25% of the investment will go to the energy sector and 19% spent on roads, 16% on urban infrastructure, 13% on railways and 8% on rural infrastructure and innovation. The Business Standard newspaper has suggested that slow growth in domestic demand in late 2020 may cause cement production capacity utilisation to return to a level above 70%.

Venezuela: Venezuelan Chamber of Construction (CVC) president Mauricio Brin has estimated a capacity utilisation of 12.5% - corresponding to a production of 1.5Mt of cement from an installed capacity of 12Mt/yr. Noticias Financieras has reported that, according to Brin, production, which was hampered by power shortages, was sufficient to meet the construction sector’s demand. “Public construction has stalled and private investment is restricted to limited office developments in state capitals,” said Brin. He estimated a contraction of 95% year-on-year in construction compared to 2018.

Paraguay: Cement has been entering Paraguay at a rate of 6000t per month, up by 400% from 1000t per month upon the removal of restrictions on 19 November 2019, as importers move to fill the supply gap created by falling domestic production. ABC has reported that the construction sector requires 0.1m bag/day of cement, of which the state-owned Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) is currently providing 20,000 and Intercement 30,000. ABC has named neighbouring Argentina as a source of Paraguay’s incoming cement.

Zimbabwe: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has complained of implied year-on-year inflation of 350% in September 2019 having possible knock-on effects on its business. Company secretary Flora Chinhaire blamed a 19% year-on-year drop in domestic consumption on ‘declining demand from homeowners due to escalating mortgage financing costs’ and the effects of foreign currency constraints on payments to suppliers for capital expenditure projects. All Africa has reported that power supply issues and unplanned stoppages caused a 1% decline in productivity at Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe’s 0.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant, where it operates a single wet production line.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted a 5.3% contraction in Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019.

India: The Union Council of India has approved a US$1.4bn distress fund to help developers finish partially completed residential developments. Business Today has suggested that the financing, which prioritises affordable and middle-income housing projects, will bolster demand for cement producers. The launch of the scheme follows India’s decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on 4 November 2019, for which it stated reasons of a trade deficit with 11 of the 15 other signatories and the rejection of its proposed three-tier structure for phasing out tariffs.

Jordan: 21.8% state-owned Jordan Cement, 50.3% subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has laid off 200 of its 550 employees after incurring losses of US$87m in the nine months to 30 September 2019. Reuters has reported that the company, whose 2018 losses were US$48.9m, up by 4.0% year-on-year from US$47.0m in 2017, made the sackings ‘to ensure its continuity,’ according to Jordan Cement CEO Samaan Samaan. The company has operated a single line at its 2.0Mt/yr integrated Rashadiyah cement plant since the closure of its 2.0Mt/yr Fuhais plant in 2013. The country’s 9Mt/yr-capacity cement sector serves a domestic demand of 4Mt/yr.