Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW781 / 14 October 2026

Headlines


One trend that Global Cement Weekly has noted in recent months has been investment by Indian cement companies in electric vehicles (EV). Producers including UltraTech Cement, JK Cement, Dalmia Cement and Wonder Cement have all enlarged their fleets. Let’s explore what’s been happening.

UltraTech Cement said in September 2026 that it was scaling up its EV fleet to over 600 trucks by December 2026. It has signed contracts with manufacturers including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, IPLTech, Energy in Motion, Sany and others to make it happen. The total fleet will transport about 5Mt/yr of clinker and other materials in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. It will also allow the company to avoid using 39Ml/yr of diesel. The producer started using compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks in 2021 and EVs in 2024. Its CNG and EV fleet currently surpasses 850 trucks.

There have been other cement companies investing too. Dalmia Cement (Bharat) said at the end of September 2026 that it was working with SwitchLabs Automobiles and Energy In Motion. This project has deployed 24 EV trucks for the transportation of bulk raw materials, including petcoke, slag and gypsum from Karaikal Port to its cement plants in Dalmiapuram and Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu. Dalmia Cement and SwitchLabs have also reportedly developed a trailer-swap operating model designed to improve utilisation and reduce idle time for EV trucks. Under the model, an electric tractor can interchange trailers rather than remaining idle during loading and unloading activities.

Back in July 2026 Wonder Cement and Montra Electric announced the deployment of around 250 Rhino 5538 EV 4×2 TT EV trucks. At the time Montra Electric said that the trucks would operate across the Nimbahera - Dahej Port and Nimbahera - Tuna Port routes, covering approximately 1450km across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It added that this made it India's longest commercial electric freight corridor. Crucially, the supplier also mentioned charging infrastructure. This comprised 13 charging stations with 39 chargers. Some other key details to note included that the 5538 EV 4x2 TT truck has a 282kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that has a range of up to 198km per charge on a one-way loaded, one-way empty duty cycle. It is also available in two configurations: a standard fixed-battery variant capable of fast-charging from 20% to 100% in about 60 minutes; and a battery-swap variant that enables a full battery replacement in under six minutes.

Finally, JK Cement also revealed in July 2026 that it has entered into a partnership with Billion Electric to deploy more than 150 EV trucks during the financial year. The arrangement will start with deployment of 20 EV trucks from JK Cement’s Muddapur plant in Karnataka. The trucks are intended to transport cement to stockyards in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. Similar to the Wonder Cement - Montra Electric deployment, Billion Electric Mobility will also be providing charging infrastructure as well as fleet operations and route planning. It was preparing to use ChargeZone’s charging network in the three states. 

Back in 2024 the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) and Confederation of Indian Industry released a report on how electrification could be introduced to the cement and raw material sector. It noted that using EV trucks could potentially cut logistic costs by 25 - 40% and that vehicles that operated over 8000km/month were ready to save money under energy and infrastructure prices at the time the report was published. Needless to say the reduction in CO2 emissions would be immediate. It also said that in the 2020 - 2021 financial year road transportation represented 74 - 76% of total cement movement with most of these journeys being trips of up to 300km. For an average integrated cement plant, just under half of these trips (49%) were internal movements related to clinker production. The next 41% were outbound trips concerned with cement followed by 2% of trips related to slag and 7% with fly ash. Challenges noted to using EV trucks included the higher procurement costs for EV trucks, battery cost and maintenance issues, the necessity for charging infrastructure, reduced payload due the battery size, maintenance issues with the new vehicle types and reliance on imports for the trucks and parts.

Media commentators have pointed out that the cement sector in India is particularly suitable to adopt EVs early. This is principally due to the business generally having known routes that charging infrastructure can be built for rather than having to build a widespread network of chargers such as for consumer automotive. Throw in the cost savings suggested by the CMI and the recent wave of EV deals by cement companies in India starts to make sense. There are also a number of government policies that are aiding the transition such as the PM E-DRIVE truck incentive and various state initiatives. The other counterintuitive thing here is that diesel prices may not be the primary driver. Europe and North America have increasingly become preoccupied with mounting diesel prices. India, whilst not immune to the underlying geopolitical causes, has a large refining base and has been exporting diesel.

In conclusion, switching EV trucks appear to be making financial sense for cement producers in India and these companies are investing accordingly. The transition isn’t without its issues as mentioned above, particularly with financing and the change in logistic mindset of working around recharging a battery rather than filling a fuel tank. We intend to report back on this topic in future months as it develops, both in India and elsewhere.


US: Titan Group has appointed Jimmy Khan as Regional Head East Med & MEA.

Khan previously worked as Regional President for Amrize from mid-2025. Before this, he worked for Holcim and LafargeHolcim in a variety of roles from 2005 to 2025. Notable roles included Country CEO Lafarge Egypt from 2022 to 2025, Country CEO Zambia from 2018 to 2021 and CEO LafargeHolcim Mauritius and Seychelles from 2015 to 2018. This followed earlier accountancy, human resources and auditing positions. Khan holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and information systems from the Pamplin College of Business.


Algeria: Holcim has appointed Ali Said as the CEO of its business in Algeria.

Said previously worked as the CEO UAE & Oman following general manager roles in the UAE, Jordan and Iraq. He started working for the group in 2014 as a chief financial officer in Iraq. Earlier in his career, he was the finance director for Cemena in Bahrain and held an accounting role for Lafarge Canada. Said is a graduate of McGill University and holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the Université du Québec à Montréal.


US: Texas Lehigh Cement has appointed Derek Nicholls as president.

Nicholls previously worked for Italcementi Group from 2005 to 2015 eventually becoming Senior Vice President - Technical Director. Earlier he was the Plant Director at the Martinsburg plant in West Virginia. Prior to this, he worked for Heidelberg Materials North America as the plant manager of the Glens Falls plant in New York and Vice President Operations. Nicholls is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.


Sweden: Cemvision has appointed Claes Kollberg as its CEO. He succeeds Oscar Hållén, who will take Kollberg’s position on the company’s board of directors.

Kollberg co-founded Cemvision in 2019. This followed nearly two decades working in cement production, mostly for Cementa. After starting as a technical trainee, he became a Project and Maintenance Engineer. Further maintenance, production and operations roles followed included stints for Cimgabon in Gabon and Twiga Cement in Tanzania. Kollberg was the plant manager of Cementa’s Degerhamn plant from 2012 to 2017. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stokholm.


Denmark: Hasle Refractories has appointed Christian Halken as Chief Sales Officer.

Earlier in his career, Halken worked for FLSmdith for 1996 to 2019, eventually becoming Senior Vice President, Customer Services EMEA and India. He originally started working for the equipment supplier as a Commissioning Manager in 1996. Other notable positions during his time with FLSmidth include becoming General Manager, Customer Services,  Cement, Denmark in 2007. Halkern holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and master’s degree in chemical process engineering from UCL.


UAE: Shree Cement subsidiary Union Cement Company has commissioned a new US$31.3m, 3Mt/yr grinding plant in Ras Al Khaimah. The plant is equipped with a vertical roller mill, with an integrated grinding and separation system.

Press Trust of India News has reported that the plant increases the subsidiary’s installed cement capacity by 75%, to 7Mt/yr. India-based Shree Cement has a total global production capacity of 76.3Mt/yr. It has a renewable power generation capacity of 635MW, accounting for 66% of group energy consumption in the first quarter of the (current) 2027 financial year.


India: JK Cement and logistics partner Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) have launched a long-haul, containerised cement rail service between the Khemli cement terminal in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district and Inland Container Depot Whitefield (ICDW) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Maritime Gateway News has reported that the service will connect JK Cement’s new Udaipur plant to the South India market. This will help the producer to further transfer its logistics from road to rail.


Netherlands/Taiwan: TCC Group Holdings has won shareholder approval for an overseas initial public offering of its Netherlands-registered subsidiary Cimpor International Holdings. China Times News has reported that shareholders representing 95% of attending shares approved the plan at an extraordinary general meeting on 13 October 2026.

TCC plans to separate Cimpor International Holdings, along with the group’s Portuguese, Turkish and African business, under TCC Dutch Holdings. It will then list the subsidiary on the Euronext international exchange or on the London Stock Exchange in the UK.


Vietnam: The Vietnam Institute for Building Materials has launched an 18-month project with Energiva Ventures to build an environmental product declaration (EPD) programme for cement produced in Vietnam. Việt Nam News has reported that the launch took place at an industry workshop event on 12 October 2026. The project may result in the subsequent launch of guiding circulars, regulations and standards published by the government, with mandatory implementation of EPDs to follow.


Egypt: China-based Xiamen C&D has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s Ministry of Transport to build a new dry bulk terminal for cement and other materials at the Al Max port in Alexandria. The terminal will include two main berths, a logistics centre, silos and storage yards. Daily News has reported that it is the first of four new terminals planned at Al Max port. The aim of the project is to reduce supply chain costs and increase the competitiveness of exports for Egyptian industry.


Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction has asked the Prime Minister to halt the Thanh Son Cement cement plant project in the province of Thanh Hóa over planning conflicts, defence safety restrictions and local opposition, according to local media.

The project was originally designed to produce 2500t/day of clinker, sufficient for 0.9Mt/yr of cement. The company had later planned to increase its capacity to 6000t/day of clinker (2.2Mt/yr of cement), but failed to secure funding for implementation.

The project has faced delays since it was announced in 2013. Authorities in Thanh Hoa repeatedly proposed halting it, and the ministry now says it no longer aligns with the province’s 2021 – 2030 development plan. The project site falls within the safety perimeter of a defence facility. The limestone and clay deposits intended to supply raw materials are also in an area where mineral extraction is prohibited.

Local opposition is another major obstacle. Of 717 households surveyed across five nearby villages, 715 opposed the project over concerns about pollution and health impacts.


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.