Displaying items by tag: Americas

US: Sublime Cement has announced a 10% workforce reduction and a pause in the development of its planned demonstration plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts, after the company failed to reverse a decision to cancel a US$86m federal grant, which would have funded 50% of the project. The company had been awarded the grant by the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), but the Trump administration cancelled all grants in May 2025. Sublime said that the loss of the grant disrupted the company’s financing plans and forced it to explore alternative scale-up options.

The company said in a statement “We are actively working through a robust set of alternative scale-up plans and have several exciting options to bring our first commercial plant online.”

Earlier in 2025, Microsoft committed to purchasing 623,000t of Sublime’s low-carbon cement to reduce the embodied emissions of its construction projects. The Holyoke plant was to supply the product, with a planned output of over 30,000t/yr. Sublime said that it remains in discussions with the Department of Energy.

Brazil: Cement sales reached 5.5Mt in November 2025, up by 4% compared to the same month in 2024, according to the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). Between January and November 2025, total sales amounted to 62.2Mt, reflecting the same 4% year-on-year growth.

The Minha Casa, Minha Vida housing programme remains a major driver of demand, with project launches up by 8% and sales increasing by 16% over the period. Each 45m² housing unit consumes between 4-6t of cement, depending on the construction method. With a national goal of delivering more than 2 million units between 2023 and 2026, the programme is expected to significantly boost cement demand.

At COP30 in Belém, the Brazilian cement sector presented its new Net Zero 2050 Roadmap. Brazil’s cement industry currently emits 580kg of CO₂ per tonne of cement, which is below the global average of 610kg/t, and has reached 32% alternative fuel use, primarily biomass and waste.

“The cement industry is approaching the end of 2025 closely observing the dynamics between the heating up of the labour market and the constraints on credit,” said SNIC President Paulo Camillo Penna. “While the real estate market financed by savings suffers from high interest rates, social housing confirms its strategic role. The progress of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida programme and the continuous investments in infrastructure, combined with our renewed commitment to the climate agenda, will be decisive in sustaining demand next year.”

US: Total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, reached an estimated 9.99Mt in July 2025, up by 7% from July 2024. Year-to-date shipments totalled 57.0Mt, down by 3% from the same period in 2024. Texas, Missouri, California, Florida and Alabama were the top cement-producing states. Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina together accounted for 38% of total shipments.

Clinker production in July 2025 totalled 6.64Mt, nearly unchanged from July 2024. Cumulative clinker output for January to July 2025 fell by 7% year-on-year to 37.5Mt. Missouri, California, Texas, Florida and Alabama produced the most clinker.

Colombia: The cement industry recorded a 6% year-on-year rise in national production to 1.25Mt in October 2025, driven by recovering construction activity and commercial demand. Domestic shipments grew by 10% to 1.18Mt. Shipments in the Bogotá area rose by 11%, while Nariño and Norte de Santander reported growth of 39% and 26%, respectively. Demand fell in Valle del Cauca and Sucre, by 2% and 0.6% respectively.

El Salvador: Cement demand rose by 22% year-on-year between January and August 2025 to 34.3 million 42.5kg bags, up from 28.1 million bags in the same period in 2024, according to data from the Central Reserve Bank (BCR). In August 2025, demand was 3.9 million bags, up from 3.5 million in August 2024. Director of the Planning Office of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (OPAMSS) Luis Rodríguez said “The main concrete companies are about to expand their distribution capacity.”

Holcim executive director for El Salvador and Nicaragua Manuel Arrieta said “We are seeing a 20% increase in our sales this year in volume. We have never produced as much as we did in the second half of the year and we foresee super-strong construction for the future, so we hope that next year we will be able to break a new record.”

Holcim operates two plants in Metapán and reported sales of more than 1.2Mt of cement in 2025. It has reportedly invested nearly US$80m over the past five years in expansion and sustainable technology. Cement imports also rose, with 614 million kg of hydraulic cements entering the country between January and October 2025. Guatemala was the top source at 193.2 million kg, followed by Vietnam and Japan. Total imports were valued at US$51.6m.

Rodríguez said that cement volumes, in addition to other construction materials, have increased by 60% through the port of Acajutla. Over five producers and importers now compete in El Salvador’s cement market.

US: Cement import capacity is continuing to rise despite a slowdown in demand and growing uncertainty over tariffs, according to a report by Argus Media. Cement supplier Ozinga initially expected  demand would bounce back after the November 2024 presidential election. CEO Marty Ozinga said “Then the Liberation Day thing happened. I think that really put a pause to a lot of projects, just enough to make it very disappointing for most of the year,” referring to the tariffs rolled out in April 2025.

Tariffs have increased costs for importers by US$5-10/t, said On Field Investment Research managing partner Yassine Touahri. Market analyst Ed Sullivan forecasts cement consumption falling by 5% in 2025 and dropping by a further 0.2% in 2026, hitting a low of 100Mt. He said longer-term growth is still possible, citing a potential market size of 140Mt by 2050 if past per capita consumption rates return.

With mortgage rates above 6% and affordability at record lows, residential construction is expected to remain weak. Sullivan said that industry utilisation is running at 76%, below the 80% that producers ‘would like to see’, and he expects imports to hit a bottom at 17Mt in 2026, despite new import capacity coming online.

"On the import side, capacity additions are not slowing down at all", even though demand for additional imports is much less certain than it was three to five years ago, LEK Consulting managing director Olivier Asset said.

Colombia: The Colombian Navy seized 3.5t of cement during a maritime control operation in the Gulf of Urabá. The shipment, valued at US$2347, was reportedly being transported without proper documentation and aboard a vessel that did not meet maritime authority standards.

Three Colombian nationals transported the cement, and did not comply with regulations on controlled chemical substances. The Urabá Coast Guard Station inspected the unregistered, unmarked vessel, which also lacked a navigation certificate, registration or any visible identification on the hull. Authorities determined the quantity of cement aboard exceeded the legal transport limit, and the vessel was impounded. The vessel, cargo and crew were handed over to the relevant authorities.

Peru: Grupo Unacem reported consolidated sales of US$530m in the third quarter of 2025, up by 0.3% year-on-year, driven mainly by the favourable performance of its operations in Peru, Ecuador and Chile. EBITDA reached US$121m. In Peru, third-quarter cement shipments were 1.56Mt, up by 3% from the third quarter of 2024, and sales were US$202m, up by 1.5% year-on-year. The company’s capital expenditure was US$138m, up by 11% year-on-year. In Ecuador, third-quarter 2025 revenues reached US$47.2m, a 3% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Unacem North America reported cement shipments of 323,000t during the third quarter, representing a 0.7% year-on-year increase. Finally, Unacem Chile recorded shipments of 277,000m³ of ready-mix concrete, a 38% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024.

Corporate CEO Pedro Lerner said “In Peru, we continue to see a positive trend, with a quarter in which our prefabricated building business achieved record revenues and market activity supported this performance. In the US, despite the challenging environment, we have maintained our market share in Arizona and increased it in California, which reaffirms the strength of our operation. We also highlight the modernisation of Termochilca, which exceeded the expected efficiency levels.”

Corporate strategy manager Alicia Campos said “This quarter our portfolio showed resilient performance, with higher volumes in Peru, Ecuador and Chile, along with sustained growth in our energy platform. EBITDA reflects this operational strength, while capital expenditure responded to the execution of strategic and sustainability projects, including environmental and efficiency improvements in our operations. These advances continue to strengthen our position and support the year-to-date performance.”

US: Heidelberg Materials has announced that it will acquire Walan Specialty Construction Products in Delaware under a binding purchase agreement. The transaction includes a 150,000t/yr capacity slag grinding plant with a vertical mill built in 2022 near the Port of Wilmington. The producer says that this acquisition will further strengthen its low-carbon cementitious portfolio and extend its market reach in the Northeast Region.

Peru: National cement shipments reached 1.23Mt in October 2025, up by 9% compared to October 2024 and up by 5% over the past 12 months, according to ASOCEM. Cement production rose by 6% year-on-year to 1.08Mt, while clinker output increased by 36% compared to October 2024, to 0.87Mt.

Cement exports fell by 7% year-on-year to 10,837t, while clinker exports rose by 202% to 108,345t for October 2025, a rolling 12-month rise of 16%. Cement imports grew by 393% year-on-year to 157,233t and grew by  133% over the past 12 months. Clinker imports also increased by 200% year-on-year to 130,055t, and by 72% over the last 12 months.