30 January 2025

Global: The World Cement Association (WCA) projects a 22% decline in global cement demand by 2050. Price increases are expected to continue in European and North American markets, while significant market restructuring is already underway to address overcapacity in China and Japan. Multinational companies are scaling back cement business and focusing instead on North America, while cement production in Europe continues to decline due to strict CO₂ regulations and capacity reductions.

India's cement production has surpassed 200Mt/yr, with domestic firms strengthening their position as multinationals exit the market. Chinese producers are expanding their presence, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia.

WCA president Wei Rushan said “To remain both profitable and environmentally responsible, the cement industry must aim to reduce capacity by 50%, from 4.7Bnt/yr to 2.3Bnt/yr within the next decade. This requires focusing on modern, sustainable production units.”

India: Ambuja Cements has released its financial results for the third quarter of 2025. The company has reported consolidated net profit of US$244m crore for the third quarter of the 2025 financial year, up 157% from US$95.1m in the corresponding period of the previous year. Revenue rose 4.5% to US$971m, with cement sales volumes reaching a record 16.5Mt, marking 17% year-on-year growth.

The company's expansion plans target 104Mt/yr capacity by the fourth quarter of the 2025 financial year, rising to 118Mt/yr by the 2026 financial year and 140Mt/yr by the 2028 financial year.

A statement from the company said "This demand is expected to grow by 4-5% in the 2025 financial year, further supported by the infrastructure and housing budget. Ambuja Cements is well-positioned to benefit from these trends. The anticipated rebound in demand, supported by government initiatives, is likely to enhance cement sector performance in the coming quarters. Ambuja Cements will continue to grow at a faster pace than the industry."

Germany: Rock Tech Lithium has signed a memorandum of understanding with Schwenk Zement to utilise lithium production by-products from Rock Tech’s Guben converter for use in cement manufacturing at Schwenk's facilities. The primary objective of the partnership is to develop industrial applications for residues generated from Rock Tech's lithium-hydroxide production, specifically spodumene leach residues. During initial studies conducted by the Institute of Technologies and Economics of Lithium, the leach residues demonstrated potential as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for use in cement manufacturing, offering benefits such as reduced carbon emissions and cost savings.

The partnership aims to process up to 200,000t/yr of by-products by 2029, with Schwenk planning investments in drying, grinding and storage facilities for the leach residues.

Johann Trenkwalder, member of the management board of Schwenk Germany, said "Ensuring the future supply of sufficient quantities of high-quality cement grinding materials is of great strategic importance for Schwenk. The leached spodumene concentrate produced during the operation of the planned converter in Guben represents an interesting and regionally-available source of SCMs."

India: JK Cement has won a bid for 250Mt of limestone reserves in Lakhpat Punrajpur, Kutch, Gujarat, through a Request for Proposal from Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation. The reserves are expected to supply the company with raw materials for the next 40 years.

JK Cement Group president Amit Kothari said "This strategic partnership not only strengthens our resource base, but also highlights our focus on ensuring a steady supply of premium raw materials for high-quality cement production.”

Spain: Cement consumption in Spain rose by 3% in 2024 after two consecutive years of decline, reaching 14.9Mt, according to the latest data from Oficemen.

The figure represents an increase of 0.42Mt compared to 2023, though remains similar to 2021-2022 levels. Oficemen projects 5% growth for 2025.

Alan Svaiter, Oficemen chair, said "These figures confirm the positive progression in cement consumption during the second half of 2025, following a challenging start with negative numbers".

Consumption remained behind that of 2023 until October 2024, when it showed 1% growth, before reaching the final 3% year-end figure.