Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW775 / 02 September 2026

Headlines


Financial results from the major Chinese cement producers have been emerging this week. The market remains in a state of contraction with cement output and corporate revenue reflecting that. The difference, so far in the first half of 2026, is that increasing numbers of these cement companies are making a loss.

Firstly, cement output fell by 9% year-on-year to 741Mt in the first half of 2026 from 815Mt in the first half of 2025. This isn’t the steepest rate of decline for the first half since 2020 with worse rates reported in the first halves of 2022 and 2024, at 15% and 11% respectively. Output has been decreasing annually since at least 2021, at a mean rate of 8%/yr. Commentary by the China Cement Association (CCA) blamed the poor first half of the year on falling levels of investment on infrastructure and real estate. The former fell by 2.4% and the latter by 18% to US$566bn. Although the CCA did note a modest increase in spending on railways. Unfortunately July 2026 appears to have brought no respite with continued year-on-year decline in output of cement.

Graph 1: Cement output in China, H1 2020 to 2026. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Graph 1: Cement output in China, H1 2020 to 2026. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Each of the large China-based cement companies detailed here reported heavy falls in revenue in first half of 2026 with the exception of Huaxin Cement. As in previous years this is due to that company’s focus on overseas investments. By sales volumes of cement and clinker, and based on sales revenue, Anhui Conch is the largest cement producer in China. CNBM has a higher revenue overall but it covers a wider range of businesses and we have restricted our coverage here to its Basic Building Materials Segment. Anhui Conch’s reaction to the poor first half of 2026 was to blame it on weak market demand, competition and ‘other factors.’ This may sound familiar to previous years. Unsurprisingly, it noted positive performance from its trading business (exports) and its overseas investments. It also recorded a wind and solar generation and energy storage capacity of 1431MW. This is a massive figure.

Graph 2: Sales revenue from selected Chinese cement producers. Source: Company financial reports.

Graph 2: Sales revenue from selected Chinese cement producers. Source: Company financial reports.

CNBM’s Basic Building Materials Segment reported a similar story blaming falling volumes of concrete and prices for all three heavy building material. However, it did say that its sales volumes of aggregates rose. BBMG’s assessment was along the same lines although it also noted a ‘rebound in coal prices’ in the second quarter. Although it was more optimistic than the CCA on the local real estate market. spotting rising prices in certain key cities in the second quarter. It should be noted that BBMG runs property development and operation businesses. Finally, China Resources Building Materials Technology was circumspect about its situation. It did say that it had demolished several production lines through capacity replacement and that its cement capacity utilisation rate fell to 53.5% from 56.8%.

CNBM’s Basic Building Materials Segment, BBMG and China Resources Building Materials Technology all reported a loss in the first half of 2026. China Cement Network estimated this week that the cement sector in China would make a loss of US$450m - 750m in the first half. Of the 19 companies that have released financial results, 15 reported falling revenue and 10 reported losses.

Meanwhile, Huaxin Cement said it sold 34.8Mt of cement and clinker in the first half of 2026. 13.2Mt of this came from its overseas businesses, an increase of 57%. Notable overseas development in this period included the completion of the second phase of a grinding plant in Zimbabwe, a kiln upgrade in South Africa, restoring production at a plant in Mozambique with operation scheduled for late August 2026, work on a new production line at Dondo in Mozambique scheduled for the third quarter of 2026 and ongoing work on two production lines in Nigeria scheduled for the end of the year. The group said it had mostly completed preparatory work on its proposal to buy a majority stake in Holcim Philippines.

To finish, it has been a bad first half of the year for cement companies in China. This follows the market conditions of the last five year. What is new though is that increasing numbers of these companies also appear to be now making losses unless they can access overseas markets or different sectors. Something’s going to have to give at some point. In late August 2026 the woes of the real estate sector in China were reflected in the sentencing of Hui Ka Yan, the founder of company Evergrande sentenced to life in prison. His company has been emblematic of the issues facing the sector, and contributory ones such as building materials, in China since 2020.


Greece: Titan Group has appointed Horia Adrian as General Manager South East Europe Region.

Adrian previously worked as the CEO of Holcim Philippines from 2021 to 2024 and CEO Romania & Market Head Emerging Europe from 2018. Before this he worked for Lafarge Holcim with notable roles including Head of Business Transformation, CEO Middle East, CEO Eastern Europe & CIS, CEO of Holcim Russia and CEO of subsidiary Garadagh Cement. He started his career with Holcim in 2000 as a Project Manager for Ready Mixed Concrete and Aggregates in Romania. Adrian holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dunarea de Jos University and a master’s of business administration (MBA) from Ajou University.


US: Tim Kuebler has been appointed as the Chief Growth Officer at Argos Materials.

Kuebler previously worked as the CEO of Elementia USA from 2020 to 2025 and was the President & CEO of Giant Cement from 2017. Before this he worked for Titan America from 2003 in a variety of roles, eventually becoming Chief Government Affairs Officer in 2013 and     Vice President Titan Florida Materials in 2014. He also worked for Lehigh Cement from the mid-1980s in sales and marketing positions. Kuebler is a graduate in business administration and management from the University of North Texas and holds a master’s of business administration (MBA) from the JMU College of Business.


Türkiye: Arkoz Ağrı Çimento has appointed Ömer as Production Manager (Product). He previously worked as Production Chief at Çimentaş in 2024 and 2025 and Limak Cement from 2022 to 2024. Earlier in his career he worked for Aşkale Çimento in production roles from 2012. Karadağ is a graduate in chemical engineering from Firat University.


UAE: The Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation (FNRC) and JSW Cement have signed a contract to build a new cement grinding unit in Al Tawyeen with a production capacity of 1.65Mt/yr. The project will take place over a period of approximately 15 months and will reportedly help to meet growing market demand and enhance production efficiency through locally produced clinker. The expansion project comes in response to a growing demand for cement in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, alongside urban growth and the expansion of infrastructure and construction projects.


Mexico: Global Cement is in attendance at FICEM's Technical Convention 2026 conference and exhibition for the Latin American cement industry, which commenced proceedings on 1 September 2026. The Latin American cement association is hosting the event at the Expo Santa Fe México convention centre in Mexico City, Mexico, on 1 – 3 September 2026. A day of visits to cement and fuels sites will follow on 4 September 2026, encompassing: Cemento Cruz Azul’s Hidalgo cement plant; Cementos Moctezuma’s Tepetzingo cement plant; and Regenera’s Azcapotzalco refuse transfer station and sorting plant.

Delegates picked up copies of Global Cement Magazine at their tables in the conference hall and around the event’s two exhibition areas.


India: UltraTech Cement plans to scale up its electric vehicle fleet in its logistics operations to over 600 EV trucks by the end of 2026. UltraTech has signed service contracts with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Energy in Motion and Sany to deploy EV trucks. The total fleet of 600 EV trucks will transport about 5Mt/yr of clinker and other key materials across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Once fully operational, the fleet of trucks will enable a net carbon reduction of over 111,700t/yr, displacing the equivalent of 39 million litres of diesel per year. UltraTech currently operates over 850 trucks as part of its green logistics operations, including compressed natural gas and electric trucks.


Jordan: Qatrana Cement has signed an agreement with the National Advanced Natural Gas Company to supply its Al-Qatrana cement plant with compressed natural gas. The move is part of an effort by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to diversify energy sources and enhance security of supply, aiming to supply the plant in 2027. This means that the plant would rely on a local non-imported source, thus reducing costs.


Vietnam: Exports of cement and clinker rose in the first seven months of 2026, with the country exporting 22.5Mt of cement and clinker worth US$840m during the period, up by 13% in volume and 13% in value year-on-year. In 2025, Vietnam shipped 37.5Mt of cement and clinker in 2025. Vietnam is the second largest cement supplier to the US, behind Türkiye. Production reached 70.3Mt in the first seven months of 2026, while domestic sales stood at 49.7Mt.


India: Union Cement has commissioned a Gebr. Pfeiffer MVR 6000-6C vertical mill, adding more than 2.5Mt/yr to its cement grinding capacity, according to Shree Cement’s process manager Nitin Asnani. He thanked managing director Anuj Todi and manufacturing and project head Xavier Arul Kennedy in a post to LinkedIn.


Australia: The CSL Group and Abri have commenced operations of MV Yampu, which they say is the world’s first battery-powered self-unloading bulk carrier. The vessel is 125m long and will transport limestone from Adbri’s Klein Point quarry in South Australia to the company’s Birkenhead plant in Adelaide, a distance of 68km by ship or 240km by road. This will help secure a critical raw material for the supply of locally manufactured cement. The vessel’s batteries are recharged while docked at Adbri’s Birkenhead plant, allowing MV Yampu to operate on battery power around 40% of the time. The vessel is expected to reduce diesel consumption by more than half a million litres per year compared to the vessel it has replaced. It has a capacity of 11,900t and can transport 1.7Mt/yr of limestone. It is designed to operate on 100% battery power in the future.


Japan: Japan-based cement producer Tokuyama has implemented ABB’s advanced process control technologies at its Nanyo plant. ABB’s Ability™ Expert Optimiser has enabled the control, stabilisation and optimisation of processes, including an automatic operation rate exceeding 90% in its finish mills. The company said that, since initial test deployment on one finish mill in 2024, the solution has been delivered and commissioned on another six; four cement ball mills and two vertical mills (pre-grinding and slag). The solution has also improved grinding throughput by 3% and reduced specific power consumption by 3%, while maintaining stable operations.

“When we first introduced ABB’s Ability Expert Optimiser for test purposes, results were clear and the project completed smoothly,” said Junya Doi, an engineer at Tokuyama. “We decided to extend the use of the solution to the entire cement mill process. ABB has been a reliable partner, collaborating effectively to fit the operating schedules. We believe ABB Ability Expert Optimiser has delivered exactly the results we expected.”


Kyrgyzstan: Since early 2026, Kyrgyzstan has been consuming approximately 0.7Mt/month of cement. This volume includes both domestic production and imports. The peak in cement demand occurred in April 2026: 702,100t, the highest consumption level in the past 18 months, according to Central Asia News. A decline of 1.5% was observed in May 2026 and 3% was observed in June 2026, compared to April 2026 levels. Domestic production and imports remained largely unchanged from April to June 2026. Production in April was 0.54Mt, compared to 0.51Mt in June, while imports were 0.16Mt and 0.17Mt respectively. The latest data on July production showed growth, but import data will only be available in mid-September 2026.


Lebanon: Lebanon’s Minister of Industry Joe Issa El-Khoury has ordered an immediate investigation after a cement shipment entered the country through the port of Tripoli, without undergoing inspections required by law, according to Ports Europe news. He said that the case raises questions about how the Institute of Industrial Research, the body responsible for certifying imports, cleared the shipment for release. The body reportedly issued a certificate stating that the goods were not subject to mandatory decree provisions or fell under a small quantity exemption.

Under Decree No. 9766 of March 2023, cement imported into Lebanon must carry an approval certificate confirming compliance with Lebanese standard specifications before it can enter the local market. Issa El-Khoury said that the requirement applies regardless of shipment size and requested that all relevant documents be submitted to the ministry as quickly as possible.


China: Anhui Conch Cement’s sales fell by 11% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, to US$5.49m, RTT News has reported. As a result, group earnings almost halved, to US$336m – down by 48% year-on-year.


China: BBMG Jidong Cement Group reported US$1.43bn in sales in the first half of 2026, down by 18% year-on-year. Reuters News has reported that the producer recorded a net loss for the period of US$142m, up by a factor of six from US$22.9m in the first half of 2025.


Pakistan: DG Khan Cement recorded sales of US$316m in Pakistan’s 2026 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2026. This corresponds to a rise of 11% year-on-year. Cost of sales also rose by 11%, to US$234m. The company successfully grew its profit for the year by 25%, to US$44m.


Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement reported sales of US$307m in the 2026 financial year, up by 24% year-on-year. Profit after tax grew to US$45.4m, up by 9% from first-half 2025 financial year levels.


India: Member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has called on the government to cancel an upcoming public hearing over Shree Cement's planned cement plant in the state’s East Jaintia Hills district and thereby halt the project. In addition to this, Basaiawmoit recommended that the Meghalaya government cancel all other new cement and coking plant projects in the East Jaintia Hills.

Basaiawmoit said that parts of the district around Sutunga will become uninhabitable ‘within few years’ given the rate of on-going environmental degradation due to the development of the cement industry.


US: A fire reportedly caused the ‘loss’ of a kiln, along with electrical equipment, at Ash Grove's Durkee cement plant in Baker County, Oregon, in early August 2026. Local press has reported that firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze and recorded no chemical release or injuries.


Tajikistan: President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new cement plant in Kushanyan district. It will be the fourth cement plant to begin construction in the country over the past two months, amid cement shortages and rising prices, according to local press.

The plant will be built on a territory of 30 hectares in the village of Nurafsho in the settlement of Bustonkala in Kushanyan district by private company Sementi Khatlon. Construction is planned to be completed by 2029. The plant will be able to produce up to 1.2Mt/yr of cement once it begins operation, and will provide employment for more than 700 workers. The new plant will be located near the Kurgontepa limestone deposit in Kushanyan, which will allow the use of local raw materials for cement production.

Earlier, after cement shortages emerged and prices rose, President Rahmon announced in late May 2026 that four new cement plants would be built by 2029. In mid 2026, construction began on two cement plants in the village of Kharangon in Varzob District and in the city of Istaravshan. Their combined production capacity is expected to reach 3.6Mt/yr of cement.


South Korea: Sampyo Cement is training AI on operating data from experienced workers in order to hand over some of the constant monitoring required by workers, according to Korea Biz Wire. Early applications have already allowed operators to step away briefly from their stations, when previously they even had to take a radio to the toilet. Sampyo has already invested in AI for limestone mining and the firing of raw materials, and is now extending the technology to the final stage of cement production under a project backed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Together with the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and Kangwon National University, the company aims to increase productivity by 2% while cutting electricity consumption by the same amount. Two operators currently oversee six mills as a team – Sampyo’s goal is to have one worker manage all six with the assistance of AI.

“The workplace is physically more comfortable than where the machinery operates, but having to pay attention to everything for eight hours can actually make the job feel more demanding,” plant manager Bae Dong-hwan said.

Workers appear less worried about AI taking their jobs than about whether they can trust it, said Lee Seok-je, a senior member of Sampyo’s process improvement team. However, this question of trust becomes more complicated when AI moves from monitoring machinery to monitoring people, says the newspaper. The company has reportedly considered giving workers wearable devices that would track heart rates, body temperatures and other data in real time to help detect emergencies. However, employees objected on the basis that the technology could be used to track their locations.


France: Hoffmann Green Technologies has partnered with France-based CSBT Environnement, a company specialising in the recovery of scallop shells. The shells are byproducts of the fishing industry, and are collected and processed using a mechanical fine grinding method to yield calcium carbonate with 99% purity suitable for the construction sector. Hoffmann Green will incorporate the material into its 0% clinker cement.

Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann, cofounders of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, said "This partnership demonstrates our ability to incorporate alternative raw materials from the circular economy without compromising the performance of our 0% clinker cements. The utilisation of marine calcium developed by CSBT is fully aligned with our decarbonisation strategy and opens up new possibilities for the production of binders with a very low carbon footprint."


India: Bangalore-based climate tech start-up CarbonStrong has raised US$1.3m in a seed round. The start-up turns industrial waste into a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) that can replace up to 50% of the cement used in concrete. It says that its product is 30% cheaper than cement, improves durability and works within existing plants without new equipment. The seed round will fund CarbonStrong’s first production facility, team expansion and further product testing as it moves from trials to commercial-scale output. The company aims to produce 100,000t/yr of the material by 2028. It has run pilots and demonstration projects across Banglaore, Hyderabad and Chennai, and now targets long-term supply deals with producers, builders and contractors.   


Peru: National cement shipments reached 1.12Mt in July 2026, representing an increase of 9% year-on-year and 11% in the accumulated 12-month period. 1.06Mt of cement was produced, rising by 9% year-on-year and 10% in the 12-month period. Clinker production also rose, to 0.78Mt, a 14% year-on-year increase. 10,551t of cement was exported, representing a 20% year-on-year decrease, and 71,305t of clinker was exported. 72,472t of cement was imported and 58,790t of clinker was imported. 96% of imports came from Vietnam via the Ports of Chancay and Matarani, and 4% came from Chile via the Tacna land terminal.