Italy: The President of the Italian cement association Federbeton, Stefano Gallini, has highlighted the disadvantages of cement and clinker production relocating to non-EU countries with lower costs, according to Milan Finance.

New data from from the Federation of Italian Cement Producers reports that imports of non-European cement into Italy rose by 22.6% year-on-year in 2023 to 3.6Mt. From 2018 to 2023, the import of intercontinental cement has increased by 572%, compared to a 6.5% increase in European purchases.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos will invest US$36.7m to double the production capacity of its Edealina plant in Goiás from 1Mt/yr to 2Mt/yr. The new cement grinding line is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2025. This expansion is a key component of Votorantim's US$919m investment program over the next five years. The program includes significant investments in increasing cement production capacity, alternative fuel usage and decarbonisation efforts, with US$312m already being implemented.

UK: Loesche has won a contract from Aggregate Industries UK, part of the Holcim Group, to design, manufacture and deliver a grinding plant for a new production and distribution facility at the Port of Tilbury, set to open in 2025. The new plant will feature a Loesche vertical roller mill of the LM 30.2 CS type, complete with a dynamic classifier, process and nuisance filters, a hot gas generator and mill fan. This facility will allow Aggregate Industries UK to supply its customers with a range of conventional, low carbon and circular cementitious materials 24 hours a day from five loading heads.

US: Vineyard Offshore has agreed to buy 2000t of cement from Sublime Systems, a Massachusetts startup planning a US$150m ‘carbon-free’ cement plant in the city. The cement will be used for turbine platforms and onshore civil works within the Vineyard Wind 2 project, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint. This agreement is contingent on the project's selection in upcoming solicitations.

Brazil: Despite experiencing a 1.2% year-on-year increase in cement sales in the first half of 2024 to 30.6Mt, the Brazilian cement industry is adjusting to mixed economic signals, according to the National Union of the Cement Industry (SNIC). While June sales rose by 2.1% year-on-year to 5.4Mt, overall growth projections have been downgraded from 2.4% to 1.4% for 2024 due to macroeconomic turbulence and extreme weather conditions.

The Gambia: Minister for Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Baboucar Ousmaila Joof, clarified in a parliamentary session that The Gambia has not increased taxes on cement imported from Senegal. The excise tax applies uniformly to all imported bagged cement to support local manufacturing. Despite challenges in penetrating the Senegalese market due to protectionist policies, The Gambia continues to promote regional trade through a trade liberalization scheme, enabling duty-free access across member states. The scheme has seen rising imports from Senegal, growing significantly from US$11.3m in 2018 to over US$44m in 2022. The minister emphasised the critical role of government support in sustaining the industry amidst challenges such as smuggling and high production costs.

The Minister said “Past studies of the manufacturing sector in the country found that more than 80% of the manufacturing units were operating less than 50% of their installed capacity due to high cost of energy, taxation and limited market space. To spur growth in the industry, the government has decided to support the industry by imposing an excise tax on the importation of bagged cement.”

Germany: Cemex Deutschland has partnered with recycling service provider Alba to construct a new biochar production facility at its Rüdersdorf cement plant in Brandenburg. Named ALCE, the project will utilise biogenic waste to produce biochar, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cement production. This initiative is part of the Carbon Neutral Alliance, targeting carbon neutral cement production at Rüdersdorf by 2030.

Tanzania/Kenya: Tanzania-based Amsons Group has made a significant US$180m bid to acquire the entire stake of Kenya's Bamburi Cement. The group said on 11 July 2024 that it has made a binding offer with Bamburi Cement, according to The East African newspaper. The offer includes a premium of 44.4% over Bamburi's last closing share price.

Managing Director of Amsons Group, Edha Nahdi said "We have great plans to deepen our investment in Kenya and in Bamburi. Our offer to acquire shares in Bamburi is part of our corporate market expansion plan and will mark the formal entry of Amsons Group into the Kenyan market, where we plan to make investments in other industries in the coming months."

Mexico: Cementos Moctezuma recorded a 20.8% increase in revenues to US$1.1bn in 2023, according to its 2023 Integrated Annual Report. During the same period, the company invested more than US$37.2m in active projects, producing more than 7Mt of cement. The company also reported an earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$500m.

CEO José María Barroso said "2023 represented the opportunity to achieve continuous improvement in administrative, technical and commercial aspects, as well as through strategic alliances; all focused on cost reduction and sustainable efficiency."

South Korea: South Korean cement manufacturers recently convened at an event hosted by the Korea Cement Association and the Korea Industry Alliance Forum to discuss how to achieve carbon neutrality. The industry currently faces financial challenges in upgrading equipment due to low cement prices. However, it has achieved a 20% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of cement since 2014, aided by the use of alternative fuels and investment in energy efficiency. The Korean government now requires that greenhouse gases be cut by 12% by 2023 from 2018 levels by 53% by 2050.

The industry currently uses post-consumer plastics as fuels instead of fossil fuels and incorporates byproducts from other industries, like sludge. However, some environmental groups have labelled cement made from industrial byproducts as ‘garbage cement’ claiming it contains hexavalent chromium levels more than four times the EU’s allowable limits. The use of plastics as alternative fuel has also sparked complaints from local waste collection and incineration companies, who argue that cement companies are taking away their business.

Professor Kim Jin-man from Kongju National University said "We also need to focus on developing high-performance clinker, advanced chemical admixtures for concrete, and accelerators that shorten concrete curing times."