17 December 2015
Lafarge partners with ZRL to increase cement exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo 17 December 2015
Democratic Republic of Congo/Zambia: Lafarge Zambia and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) have collaborated to increase cement exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A policy directive is being followed by the government in order to increase exports and help stabilise the local currency. Lafarge will begin to export 400t/week of cement to the DRC in 2016 and will multiply its exports to Malawi and the DRC by a factor of four. Lafarge has become the biggest user of rail in the country and the first cement producer to be fully-associated.
US demand for fibre cement products set to grow 17 December 2015
US: US demand for fibre cement products is forecast to grow by 5.8%/yr until 2019 to 2.9Bnft2, valued at US$2.2bn.
Accelerating construction expenditures, specifically in new housing, will spur demand. Siding is by far the largest application for fibre cement and demand will benefit from the popularity of fibre cement sidings in the south and west of the US, the regions that will experience the strongest growth in population and housing starts going forward. These and other trends are presented in 'Fiber Cement,' a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.
The residential market accounts for the majority of fibre cement demand. According to Construction Group Leader Tom Bowne, while new housing demand for fibre cement products will rise at the fastest pace through 2019, residential improvement and repair will continue to account for a larger portion of residential demand. Sales of existing housing will generate demand for fibre cement products as homeowners look to increase the value of their properties before going to market.
Exterior fibre cement products have seen increasing use in the non-residential market in recent years, particularly in the form of fibre cement backer-board products. Fibre cement product demand in the non-residential market is forecast to grow by 5.4%/yr until 2019 to 670mft2. Rebounding non-residential building construction demand will primarily drive gains. In addition, fibre cement siding and exterior trim will benefit from a design trend in commercial buildings that favours an exposed-wood appearance for exteriors. Fibre cement product manufacturers have responded to this demand by developing new wood-like products aimed at commercial buildings.
Siding accounts for over 70% of fibre cement product demand. Fibre cement manufacturers have found a great deal of success in this application, managing to penetrate a competitive market and becoming a major material option in siding over the course of a couple of decades. Backer-board is the second-largest application for fibre cement in the US and is expected to post above average growth in the forecast years.
Elementia pays remaining US$45m for Cementos Fortaleza 17 December 2015
Mexico: Mexican construction group Elementia has paid the final US$45m instalment for the acquisition of a 47% stake in Mexican cement producer Cementos Fortaleza from Switzerland's LafargeHolcim.
Cementos Fortaleza was formed as a joint venture in 2013 by Elementia and Lafarge, prior to its merger with Holcim. In 2014, Lafarge agreed to sell its interest in the venture for a total of US$225m. As part of the deal, Elementia was required to pay 80% of the purchase price, or US$180m, in December 2014 and the remaining 20% in December 2015.