August 2025

Morocco: Cement sales in Morocco during the first four months of 2019 have reached 4.8Mt, an increase of nearly 6% compared to the same period of 2018. April 2019 was the fourth straight month of improved sales. The increase reverses the trend seen in the previous two sets of four-month statistics, which saw falling volumes year-on-year in both 2017 (5.3% decrease) and 2018 (5.5% decrease).

Philippines: Republic Cement and Nestlé Philippines have signed an agreement to co-process Nestlé’s post-consumer plastic waste in Republic Cement’s cement kilns. The deal was signed by Nestlé Philippines’ Chairman and CEO Kais Marzouki, its Corporate Affairs Head Attorney Ernesto Mascenon and Republic Cement’s Renato Sunico and Nabil Francis, CEO of Republic Cement Services. In April 2018, Nestlé globally announced a commitment that 100% of its packaging will be recyclable or reusable by 2025. The company's vision is that none of its waste ends up in landfill or as litter.

“Nestlé is aiming for plastic neutrality, essentially recovering plastics equal to what we produce,” said Kais Marzouki. “Aside from our current collection and recycling initiatives, we believe this effort will help us gather and co-process bigger volumes of post-consumer waste. We target to divert more post-consumer waste from landfills and the ocean. This partnership will contribute positively in helping clean up the Philippines.”

“We are happy to partner with Nestlé Philippines and to help address the pollution from residual plastics and sachets,” said Nabil Francis. “This is a win-win situation for us and the environment. Together, we can build a greener, stronger republic.”

India: A reduction in government spending and delays to the release of state funds ahead of India’s general election led to a slowdown in Indian cement demand growth in April and May 2019. Growth in cement consumption is expected to fall to a seven quarter low in the quarter to 30 June 2019.

“Pan-India cement demand will post muted 3-5% growth in the current quarter (the first quarter of the 2020 Fiscal Year), with states in the East (Bihar, Odisha) and South (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Tamil Nadu) moving at a snail's pace of 2-4%," said Hetal Gandhi, director at Crisil Research. However, Crisil expects demand to pick up in the second half of the 2020 fiscal year, with growth 6.0-7.5% for the 12 months to 31 March 2020 as a whole.

India: Ramco Cements has launched a new premium blended cement, Ramco Supercrete. The company says that Ramco Supercrete is packed in Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene bags (BOPP) bags to ensure no spillage and thus ensure a cleaner environment. Ramco Supercrete will be targeted at the ‘premium’ section of the cement market.

Ramco Cement also reports that it has invested US$500m in various expansions that are underway. The company's new capacity in West Bengal is already on stream. The company's Odisha plant is expected to be commissioned by October 2019, its Vizag plant expansion will be completed by December 2019, its Jayanthipuram expansion by July 2020 and work on its Kurnool plant will be finished by March 2021.

Honduras: Colombia’s Ultracem plans to build a new cement grinding plant in Cortés, Honduras. At present the company has invested US$2m in the country and it employs 60 people, according to La Prensa newspaper. The new production plant will create another 100 jobs. The cement producer currently operates a grinding plant at Barranquilla in Colombia.

Peru: The Supreme Court has upheld a fine of nearly US$2m by the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) on UNACEM. The penalty was levied due to UNACEM and its distribution network refusing to allow retailers to sell cement made by its competitor, according to the Gestión newspaper. INDECOPI said that in 2014 UNACEM and its collaborators refused to allow retailers to stock its Sol brand of cement if they were selling the rival Quisqueya brand produced by Mexico’s Cemex.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has commissioned a new 6000t silo at its Shimizu termimal in Shizuoka. Following the upgrade, the unit now has three silos. The new silo will be used to support infrastructure projects, including expansions to the Shinkansen high-speed railway network.

US: Dragon Products’ Thomaston cement plant in Maine restarted production in early May 2019. A fire damaged the unit in late March 2019, according to the Penobscot Bay Pilot. Plant employees and contractors spent six weeks repairing and replacing building structures, conduit and wires, motors, gearboxes, bearings, material transport equipment and other equipment.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and other trade associations from the concrete and steel sector have urged that Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, review the use of government funds on projects that use wood as a building material. The American Concrete Pumping Association, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Iron and Steel Institute, California Construction and Industrial Materials Association, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, National Concrete Masonry Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association, Steel Framing Industry Association, Steel Manufacturers Association and the PCA expressed disappointment that the Department of Agriculture had awarded over US$8.9m for 29 projects designed to expand markets for wood products, particularly mass timber, for building construction.

The industry associations acknowledged the increase in cross laminated timber (CLT) projects in the US but they said they were concerned about the use of CLT on a large scale. They said that the grants unfairly promoted one building material at the expense of another.

Algeria: LafargeHolcim Algeria’s Oggaz cement plant has been awarded ISO 14001:2015 certification for environmental management, according to the El Watan newspaper. The plant has a total cement production capcaity of 3.8Mt/yr, comprising 3.2Mt/yr of gray cement and 0.6Mt/yr of white cement. The unit also has a waste treatment facility.