Global Cement News
Search Cement News
PCA stands by brighter US cement future
Written by Global Cement staff
18 September 2013
US cement consumption may have disappointed some in the first quarter of 2013 but solid growth lies ahead, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). Just how solid that growth will be remains open to interpretation.
PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan forecast 8% growth in cement consumption at the start of 2013. Now's its been halved to just 4%. Yet he's standing by the hint of good news ahead, upping the growth from 2014 to 9.7%.
Figures from the major US cement producers present a mixed picture. The major multinational cement producers mostly suffered from the weather in early 2013. Lafarge saw its cement sales in North America drop by 23% year-on-year for the first half of 2013 to 4.4Mt from 5.7Mt in the same period of 2012. Cemex's cement sales in the US rose by 3% but no specific figures were released. Holcim's cement sales in North America fell by 7% to 5Mt from 5.4Mt. HeidelbergCement's cement sales in the North America grew by 5% to 5.7Mt from 5.4Mt.
Of the rest, Texas Industries reported a rise in cement shipments of 29% to 2.23Mt from 1.73Mt for the six months to the 31 May 2013. Titan saw sales in the US rise by 10% to US$258m.
Preliminary United States Geological Survey data for June 2013 suggests that the increase in portland and blended cement shipments in the US slowed in the first half of 2013. In 2011 32.1Mt were shipped, in 2012 37.0Mt were shipped and in 2013 37.2Mt were shipped.
Meanwhile the construction figures US Department of Commerce mostly suggested growth but not without the odd jitter. Construction spending fell slightly in June 2013. Total construction spending adjusted seasonally fell by 0.4% to US$869bn due to a fall in non-residential construction. Since then though the July 2013 figure hit US$901bn, the highest since June 2009.
Accordingly, in his forecast Sullivan pins his hopes on the residential sector in the near term. It has seen consistent growth since October 2012. However other industry commentators, like the American Institue of Architects, have focused on poor growth in non-residential construction.
Let's hope Sullivan's got it right.
Iraq bans imports of white cement from Iran 18 September 2013
Iraq/Iran: Iraq has banned imports of Iranian white cement from the Iranian border towns of Shalamcheh and Chazabeh, according to Sadeq Sava'edi, the deputy head of Khuzestan's Cement Exporters Union. Iraq is still importing grey cement and other construction materials.
"Iran exports 8000t/day and 6000t/day respetively of construction materials from the Chazabeh and Shalamcheh borders areas to Iraq," said Savaedi to the ISNA news agency.
Previously Iraq banned imports of cement of Iran completely in June 2013 but trade resumed shortly afterwards. In January 2013 the Iran - Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Secretary General Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi said that the value of trade between the two countries was about US$10.7bn/yr. He added that Iraq is Iran's main trading partner for non-oil goods.
Mangalam Cement starts trial run of new 1.25Mt/yr cement grinding plant 18 September 2013
India: Mangalam Cement has started a trial run of a new 1.25Mt/yr grinding plant. In addition the Indian cement producer announced to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the kiln at its plant in Morak in Rajasthan had commenced operation after a break for renovation since May 2013. The cement plant's clinker production capacity has now risen to 2.21Mt/yr from 1.71Mt/yr.
Israel allows cement into Gaza 18 September 2013
Gaza/Israel: Israel has allowed a limited quantity of cement and other building materials into the Gaza Strip for the first time since 2007. Nazmi Muhanna, an official in the Palestinian Authority in charge of border checkpoints, said that efforts made by President Mahmoud Abbas to convince Israel to allow entry of construction material into Gaza for private sector usage had succeeded. Israel has promised to increase the quantity gradually.
"I welcome the decision which reflects our ongoing discussions with the Israelis," commented Quartet representative Tony Blair in a statement. "This is an important step in building a more positive environment for the diplomatic negotiations and in preparing the ground for the more comprehensive and transformative economic initiative, which we have been working on for the past few months."
Cimpor to invest US$1.33bn in Latin America by 2017 18 September 2013
Portugal: Cimpor intends to invest around US$1.33bn in Latin America by 2017, according to its CEO Ricardo Lima. The main objective of Cimpor is to reinforce its position in Brazil where it already operates in all regions, except in the northern parts of the country, Lima told the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
The Portugal-based cement producer will spend part of the investment building a new cement plant in northern Brazil, at either Belém or Manaus. Due to positive results in the Argentine market another plant is planned for Argentina's western province of San Juan. In October 2013 Cimpor will inaugurate a plant in Paraguay where it holds a 35% share of the market but where it currently sells its surplus Portuguese cement.