Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW781 / 13 October 2026

Headlines



Oman: Jindal Steel Oman and Oman Cement have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the sustainable utilisation of approximately 1Mt/yr of steel slag in the latter’s clinker manufacturing process. The MoU was signed by Jiang Tao, Acting CEO, Oman Cement (part of Huaxin Cement) and Harssha Shetty, CEO of Jindal Steel Oman.

Under the partnership, steel slag generated as a byproduct of steel manufacturing will be used as an alternative raw material in clinker production. The companies say that the initiative will help conserve natural resources, reduce reliance on virgin raw materials and improve the productive use of industrial by-products.

The collaboration brings together Oman’s steel and cement industries to promote industrial symbiosis and a circular economy, while supporting efforts towards lower-carbon cement production. The initiative also contributes to Oman’s Net Zero 2050 ambition by creating a circular link between two key industrial sectors and enabling the productive use of resources.


Morocco: Holcim Maroc recorded an 8% decline in income during the first half of 2026, from US$94.8m to US$87.2m. According to management, this trend is mainly attributable to a weaker sales performance and rising fuel prices, partially offset by cost control measures and strengthened industrial performance.

As for the outlook, company officials state that “Growth prospects for the cement market remain favourable for the second half of 2026, supported by infrastructure investments linked to preparations for the 2030 World Cup, announced major investment projects and the continuation of the direct housing aid programme in the building sector."


Greece: Titan has announced a strategic minority investment in Command Alkon, a leading technology platform that serves the building materials industry with software solutions. Command Alkon’s cloud-based platform provides a foundation for integrating workflows, enhancing data visibility, and accelerating the adoption of advanced digital and AI-enabled capabilities. The investment establishes a long-term partnership between Titan and Command Alkon. Command Alkon is an independent technology company serving the industry, majority-owned by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused global investment firm.

Titan said that its investment is aligned to its Forward 2029 strategy, reflecting its ambition and reinforcing the group's commitment to accelerate digital transformation, operational excellence and innovation across its global ready-mix concrete and aggregates businesses. With its extensive ready-mix concrete and aggregates footprint in its core US markets in Florida and Mid-Atlantic, as well as in South East Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean basin, Titan can offer unique operational know-how and digital implementation track record to Command Alkon’s growth strategy and contribute its operational perspective, along with Command Alkon’s broader customer community.


Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement has reported a 24% year-on-year increase in revenues for the Pakistani fiscal year 2026, which ended on 30 June 2026. Revenues were US$307m, which was attributed to higher sales volumes and the inclusion of Pioneer Cement's sales following its acquisition. According to AKD Securities Limited, MLCF's profitability increased by 3% year-on-year, with net earnings of US$42.9m.


Jamaica: Cemex subsidiary Caribbean Cement recorded a 16% year-on-year drop in its water use in the eight-month period to the end of August 2026. Local press has reported the saving as equivalent to the annual water use of 1700 people. The producer said that this is a result of a US$42.3m upgrade to its Rockfort cement plant in Kingston, commissioned in June 2025. It anticipates a further decline in 2027 following the installation of a water recirculation cooling tower at the plant.


Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement has published its 2025 Annual Sustainability Report. Among other metrics, the report records a 17% year-on-year decline in its emissions intensity to 693kg/t CO2 – down by 40% from 2023 levels. The company produced a total of 2.67Mt of cement. Combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions were 1.85Mt. Najran Cement said that it will also report Scope 3 emissions in future reporting cycles.

The report is accessible through the Saudi Exchange website.


US: The American Cement Association (ACA) has partnered with the American Coal Ash Association, the Natural Pozzolan Association and the Slag Cement Association to develop consolidated product category rules (PCR) for cementitious materials. The new PCR, called Smart Environmental Product Declaration Part B (Standard 1000-017), merges three PCRs for cement, slag cement and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), including coal ash and natural pozzolans. ACA's EPD consultant has initiated a survey of cement producers in order to collect data for new industry EPDs.

ACA director of environmental measurement and metrics Jamie Farny described the move as a ‘logical next step’ to reduce duplicative measures regulating cement and concrete producers and users’ environmental impact reduction.


US: Cemex will lay off a ‘significant’ portion of its workforce in November, according to the Denver Business Journal, which cited a company filing. Cemex wrote in a letter to labour officials on Thursday 8 October 2026 that ‘at least’ 70 workers at its plant in Boulder County would be laid off, starting on 21 November 2026. Cemex declined to say how many employees work at the plant, but The Colorado Sun reported on Wednesday 7 October 2026 that the 70 impacted workers ‘will be more than half’ of the plant’s total workforce. The company reportedly cited a ‘staff rebalancing’ as the reason for the decision. It did not give a reason for the staff rebalancing nor indicate whether more job cuts were planned.

In an email to the Denver Business Journal, a Cemex spokesperson said “Cemex will be rebalancing staffing levels at its Lyons cement plant beginning in the fall 2026, resulting in the elimination of some positions. Although positions will be eliminated, cement sales and distribution at the Lyons plant will continue.”


Ghana: Dzata Cement marked five years in Tema, Ghana, with CEO Ibrahim Mahama setting a target of 3Mt/yr of cement produced by the company. Its plant, which is reportedly Ghana’s only wholly locally-owned cement producer, sits on a 10-acre site near Tema Port and represents an investment of more than US$100m. It employs equipment from Haver & Boecker and can produce about 80,000 bags of cement per day. It currently has a production capacity of 2Mt/yr.

Plant manager Abderrahim Ouahab said that the company plans to add new cement grades and a 25kg bag alongside its 50kg bag. It will also install a 300t/hr bag receiver, expand storage to 40,000t and build an automated packing plant with a capacity of 6000t/day.


Switzerland: Cement deliveries reached a volume of 988,702t in the third quarter of 2026, representing a 1% year-on-year increase. 73% of cement delivered is in bulk form to ready-mix concrete plants. 20% of deliveries since the beginning of 2026 were destined for concrete plants. Cemsuisse said that demand for cement with reduced clinker content represents 98% of deliveries. Ordinary Portland cement only represents 1.3% of deliveries. It also said that there was an increasing proportion of deliveries by rail (31.5% of the total), due to the ‘difficult conditions’ associated with transport by road.  


Honduras: A ship carrying 49,000t of cement was forced to return to its port of origin after attempting to enter Honduras without complying with the certifications required by the government, according to The Herald. The ‘Technical Regulations for Cement’ came into effect on 6 October 2026 and prohibit the import, distribution and sale of cement that lacks proven laboratory testing and regulated labelling, in an effort to guarantee the quality, durability and safety of construction materials in the market.

Officials explained that 57,000t of cement arrived for import and that authorities had allowed the unloading of 7000t, which had entered the port before midnight prior to the regulation coming into force, authorising its sale under strict supervision. The remaining 49,000t was sent back because the company reportedly failed to provide proof of storage conditions, stowage or the behaviour of the material during its transport. Currently, only three companies have the documentation and permits that comply with the new regulations, while a fourth will reportedly begin its accreditation process in the next few days. Authorities have granted a grace period until the beginning of December 2026, which will allow local business to sell off their remaining non-compliant cement, following which the General Directorate of Consumer Protection will carry out nationwide inspections to confiscate cement that does not meet the required standards.


Tunisia: Ciments de Bizerte recorded sales of US$4.93m in the first half of 2026, down by 20% year-on-year. African Manager News has reported that the producer reduced its loss in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 29%, to US$1.47m. Its net loss fell by 18%, to US$7.33m. The company purchased 59,900t of clinker. It reassessed its normal production capacity at 0.9Mt/yr. As a result, it lost US$3.7m in sold production and US$133,000 in inventory due to capacity underutilisation.

A joint statutory audit noted ‘significant’ uncertainty over Ciments de Bizerte’s ability to continue as a going concern, amidst a continued shutdown of clinker production and grinding capacity underutilisation. The kiln of the company’s erstwhile 1.6Mt/yr cement plant shut down amidst shortages of refractory bricks and petcoke and ‘financing constraints’ in October 2023. The government has approved a three-phase investment programme to restart clinker production and modernise equipment and IT systems at the plant. This includes financial restructuring and new financing via a banking pool led by Banque de l'Habitat. This is subject to the company’s completion of the debt consolidation.


South Africa: Afrimat is ‘reconsidering the future of its cement production’ after subsidiary Lafarge South Africa’s cement business contributed a loss in the first half of 2026, News24 Online News has reported. CEO Andries van Heerden said that the group may seek a partnership agreement, an outright sale or a strategic investor for the subsidiary. It sold its block and brick production businesses earlier in 2026, after originally acquiring Lafarge South Africa in 2024.

In a trading update, the company forecast a loss for the six months to the end of August 2026, the first half of its 2027 financial year (H1 FY 2027). The company was in profit in the half-year immediately preceding this. Lafarge South Africa’s aggregates and fly ash operations contributed a ‘strong performance’ and operating profit growth in H1 FY 2027.


South Korea: The government has announced US$474bn of funding over the period from 2026 to 2035 to generate 100GW of renewable power. The Korean Green Transformation (K-GX) plan will focus on solar and wind projects, lowering renewable generation costs and adapting its power grid to support large-scale renewable generation. This includes replacing existing power lines with high-capacity ones and fostering DC power transmission and distribution to allow renewable power generation to be directly supplied to end-users.

Cement production is one of five major industries that will also be decarbonised, partly through the use of the new renewable power, but also through the development of green hydrogen infrastructure. Other sectors that the government wants to decarbonise include steel, petrochemicals, semi-conductors and refining. The K-GX plan also aims to boost electric vehicles, with a target that 70% of new vehicles will be electric or hydrogen powered by 2035.


Bolivia: Privately-owned cement producer Bolivian Cement Society (SOBOCE) has filed a formal complaint against Bolivia’s government before the Andean Community (CAN) for an alleged violation of the principle of fair national treatment. SOBOCE alleges that ‘privileges’ were granted to the National Cement Factory (FANCESA) over its private competitors by the Supreme Court of Justice. Additionally, SOBOCE requested that while the complaint is being resolved, the collection of US$62m related to a fine for alleged unfair competition be suspended.

SOBOCE's statement read “We have formally submitted a complaint to the General Secretary of the Andean Community against the Plurinational State of Bolivia for breaking legal security and for discriminatory treatment against a sub-regional investor. This is not just a simple commercial dispute; it is a complaint about how some within the Bolivian judicial system have manipulated the laws to suffocate foreign private investment.”


Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement will hold an extraordinary general meeting in which it will seek approval for a share buyback on 29 October 2026. The Cyprus Mail newspaper has reported that the proposed buyback involves the purchase of up to 10% of issued share capital and would proceed over a period of 12 months.