14 April 2020

China: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published data showing 94% domestic cement production capacity utilisation in the two-week period ending 10 April 2020, marking an end to coronavirus shutdowns in all provinces. Excavator sales in March 2020 numbered 49,400, up by 12% year-on-year from 44,300 in March 2019. Construction materials analyst Xu Xianchun said, "Demand in the construction industry has basically recovered to 2019's level, driven by new and resumed projects." Xinhua News Agency has reported that cement prices have also climbed on a month-by-month basis.

Colombia: Mexico-based Cemex has announced the resumption of operations at its 2.8Mt/yr Caracolito plant in Ibagué, Tolima Department on 13 April 2020. Noticias Financieras News has reported that Cemex Colombia will resume the supply of its products to ‘infrastructure and public works that cannot be suspended, as well as for emergency care projects and road projects.

Cemex will have to wait for the Colombian government to lift its coronavirus lockdown to restart supplies to customers.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement sold 236,000t of cement in the first three months of 2020, down by 11% year-on-year from 266,000t in first quarter of 2019. Its sales were US$9.36m, down by 10% from US$10.4m. Regulatory News Service has reported that Steppe Cement’s Kazakh cement market share decreased to 13% from 17% in the corresponding quarter of 2019.

Steppe Cement estimated that Kazakhstan's cement demand will decrease in 2020 due to the uncertainty of the oil market and the negative effects of coronavirus. It says that its 3.6Mt/yr integrated Karaganda plant continues to operate at 100% capacity.

Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has postponed a four-day hearing over Irish Cement’s alternative fuel (AF) licence application, scheduled for May 2020, to an as yet unspecified date due to the coronavirus. Under the terms of the proposed licence, Irish Cement will be able co-process a maximum of 90,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), including tyres, in the single dry line of its 1.0Mt/yr Mungret plant in County Limerick. The EPA said that emissions from operations under the terms of the licence ‘will meet all required environmental protection standards.’

Irish Cement received its preliminary licence to burn refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in September 2019. The move attracted local resistance, with 4500 people participating in a protest on 5 October 2019.

The EPA has said that it will give all relevant parties notice ‘well in advance’ of the date of the rescheduled hearing, which will take place after the government lifts the country’s coronavirus lockdown. On 14 April 2020 County Limerick had 234 coronavirus cases out of an Irish total of 10,647.

Germany: Red Dot has awarded Vecoplan its Red Dot Design Award for the new Vecoplan VEZ 3200 pre-shredder for refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The prize ‘acknowledges the aesthetics and workmanship’ of the product, as well as its ergonomiocs and functionality. Vecoplan CEO Werner Berens said, “The design impacts on the machine construction, making the shredder easier to handle for operators.”