Displaying items by tag: demand

Spain: Consumption of cement in the first eight months of 2021 was 9.58Mt nationally, up by 13% year-on-year from 8.48Mt in the first eight months of 2020. The Spanish Cement Industry Association (Oficemen) says that consumption remains 2% below pre-Covid-19 outbreak levels in the corresponding period of 2019. The El Economista newspaper has reported that the association has forecast full-year cement consumption of 14.6Mt in 2020, slightly below the full-year 2019 figure of 14.7Mt.

President José Cascajero said "These levels put us on the path to have a growth in future years that is hopeful. The recovery of infrastructure, which has returned to being the primary source of demand, and residential building, has allowed both consumption and expectations to be substantially improved since April 2021.”

In 2022, he forecast year-on-year demand growth of 3 - 5%, due in part to the positive impacts of the EU post-Covid-19 outbreak recovery fund. Cascajero warned of the increasing burden of rising electricity prices and CO2 emissions fees and called for ‘structural reforms’ to mitigate their drag on growth.

India: SCG International Corporation has agreed to provide marketing services for BigBloc Construction’s autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) panels and other building products. United News of India has reported that BigBloc Construction expects to benefit from the partnership through the creation of a business development foundation for its AAC panels. SCG International Corporation is a subsidiary of Thailand-based cement producer Siam Cement Group (SCG).

Chair Narayan Saboo said "We are absolutely elated to announce our inaugural joint collaboration with SCG with the purpose of entering newer markets and expanding ourselves with our diversified product lines. We are the leading manufacturer of AAC blocks in India, and AAC panels are a new age building material which will further enhance speed and quality of construction.” He added “We are fully capable to cater to more demand and hence we look forward to scaling up by further promoting our product basket. SCG is without a doubt the best partner for the purpose since it is one of the largest cement and building material companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia. We look forward to the success of this wonderful opportunity which is mutually beneficial for both of our businesses."

Vietnam: Member of the Vietnam Cement Association produced 70.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first eight months of 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from 27.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Its exports rose by 12% to 27.2Mt. Viet Nam News has reported that the main importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker were China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. During the period, domestic demand fell by 5% to 43.5Mt.

Australia: Adbri’s first-half sales in 2021 were US$545m, up by 7% year-on-year from US$508m in the first half of 2020. The group’s cement and clinker volumes increased by 11%. It said that this was due to a rise in demand in the eastern states of Australia and the recommencement of regular supply to a customer in South Australia. The group increased its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to US$64.0m, up by 81% from US$35.3m. Its net profit increased by 95% to US$41.1m from US$21.1m.

CEO Nick Miller said “Adbri delivered a robust first half financial performance for 2021 recording solid growth in revenue and profits with improving margins as demand for construction materials rebounded, supported by increased residential housing activity and infrastructure spending.” He added that full-year 2021 earnings would increase less sharply year-on-year than first-half earnings have, due partly to the anticipated impacts of the opening of a rival cement terminal in New South Wales in the second half of the year.

India: JK Cement has targeted a 10% year-on-year sales growth in its 2022 financial year, which ends on 31 March 2022. The Economic Times has reported that the company foresees sales growth due to the on-going government infrastructure investment push, minimal monsoon disruptions and pent-up cement demand following Covid-19-led disruptions. Cement chief operating officer Rajnish Kapur said that growth momentum from the end of the 2021 financial year will likely continue throughout the coming nine months, despite a Covid-19 led sales drop in the first quarter of the 2021 financial year.

The cement producer also expects that its new cement plant project at Panna in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be completed in the 2023 financial year due to Covid-19 related delays. The plant will bring its total cement production capacity to around 20Mt/yr from nearly 15Mt/yr at present once it is finished. The company is also considering acquisitions to further increase its capacity to 25Mt/yr by the mid-2020s.

India: Cement demand will drop by an estimated 20% year-on-year in the three months up to 30 June 2021, the first quarter of the 2022 financial year in India. Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has attributed the projected decrease to a significant drop in rural housing’s bagged cement uptake due to state governments’ coronavirus lockdowns, which prevent retailers from opening. The Hindu newspaper has reported that this type of construction previously generated one third of demand. Segments such as urban housing, commercial construction and infrastructure will be less affected, according to the forecast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet implemented a national lockdown in response to the country’s second wave of coronavirus. New cases numbered 264,000 on 17 May 2021, down by 20% week-on-week from 330,000 on 10 May 2021.

Jamaica: Builders have complained about a shortage of cement with mounting delays between ordering the product and receiving it. However, Caribbean Cement has denied that there is any disruption to supply, according to the Jamaica Observer newspaper. However, the producer did note that there is currently an ‘extraordinary’ demand for cement due to a boom in the construction sector. It is currently increasing production to meet the surge.
Caribbean Cement says it produced over 0.1Mt of cement in March 2021, a record in recent monthly production. In 2020 it produced over 0.94Mt.

Kenya: Domestic cement consumption was 607,000t in February 2021, down for a third consecutive month and below mid-coronavirus lockdown levels of 723,000t in October 2020. Labour shortages and a national economic slowdown have slowed housing and infrastructure growth since 2020, while commercial construction has declined as companies opt not to invest in office space. The Business Daily newspaper as reported that uncertainty about the economic situation continues in May 2021.

Pakistan: A Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) enquiry committee has recommended that the commission take action against the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). The Frontier Star newspaper has reported that the enquiry found evidence that APCMA members had formed collusive arrangements contrary to the prohibited agreements under the Competition Act.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) recorded a cement price rise in Northern Pakistan in April 2020 and May 2020, and in major cities in northern Pakistan and southern Pakistan in June 2020 and July 2020. This occurred in spite of a reduction in demand in early 2020. As a result, the CCP launched a search and inspection of the APCMA head office and the office of its senior vice chairman, a cement company director, in September 2020.

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has said that it expects a 14% year-on-year decline in domestic cement demand to 50Mt in 2020 from 58Mt in 2019. The Jakarta Post newspaper has reported that the coronavirus outbreak was the primary cause of a 7.7% first-half decline in cement consumption to 27Mt from 29Mt.

Marketing and supply chain director Adi Munandir said, “Our projection is based on the delay in private construction projects and the government’s infrastructure development as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. This has caused demand to slump by 8.8% in July 2020, and we expect this slump to continue to the end of the year.” He noted the retail housing market as a potential sales boost, saying, “We saw an uptick in cement bag sales during the first half of 2020, as home renovations rose due to the pandemic.”