Displaying items by tag: Consumption
Spanish cement industry targets 43% emissions drop by 2030
24 December 2020Spain: The Spanish cement association Oficemen has targeted a 43% emissions drop by 2030 across its entire value chain compared to 1990 levels. The objective has been published as part of the association’s sustainability roadmap to 2050. It is a tightening of the previous target of 27% by 2030. Oficemen intends to meet the tougher reduction by using the so-called 5C approach - clinker, cement, concrete, construction and built environment, and (re)carbonation – as detailed by Cembureau, the European Cement Association. Oficemen also revealed that it is working with the Spanish Technological Platform for CO2 (PTECO2) on identifying potential locations for storing captured CO2. Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, participated remotely with the launch event.
Oficemen also reports that Spanish cement consumption fell by 12% year-on-year to 12.2Mt in the first 11 months of 2020. Exports declined by 5%.
Argentinian cement shipments boom in November 2020
04 December 2020Argentina: Cement producers in Argentina shipped 1.13Mt of cement in November 2020, up by 28% year-on-year from 0.88Mt in November 2019 and by 4% month-on-month from 1.09Mt in October 2020. The Economista newspaper has reported that the figure is a high-water mark for monthly production since September 2017. Consumption also rose to 1.09Mt, up by 25% year-on-year from 0.87Mt and 2% month-on-month from 1.07Mt.
Semen Indonesia forecasts 14% cement demand decline in 2020
08 October 2020Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has said that it expects a 14% year-on-year decline in domestic cement demand to 50Mt in 2020 from 58Mt in 2019. The Jakarta Post newspaper has reported that the coronavirus outbreak was the primary cause of a 7.7% first-half decline in cement consumption to 27Mt from 29Mt.
Marketing and supply chain director Adi Munandir said, “Our projection is based on the delay in private construction projects and the government’s infrastructure development as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. This has caused demand to slump by 8.8% in July 2020, and we expect this slump to continue to the end of the year.” He noted the retail housing market as a potential sales boost, saying, “We saw an uptick in cement bag sales during the first half of 2020, as home renovations rose due to the pandemic.”
Argentine cement demand continues to rise in August 2020
10 September 2020Argentina: The Portland Cement Producers Association says that domestic cement consumption was 1.1Mt in August 2020, up by 6.4% month-on-month from 1.0Mt in July 2020. Eight-month consumption remains below 2019 levels, by 26% at 7.5Mt from 9.4Mt over the corresponding period of 2019. August production fell by 12% year-on-year to 1.1Mt from 1.2Mt.
Dominican Republic: Domestic cement production declined by 24% year-on-year to 2.1Mt in the first half of 2020 from 2.8Mt in the first half of 2019, corresponding to 62% capacity utilisation. Domestic consumption over the period also fell, by 20% year-on-year.
VDZ forecasts level cement demand in 2020
12 August 2020Germany: The Verein Deutscher Zementwerke (VDZ) has forecast domestic cement consumption of 28.7Mt in 2020, consistent with the 2019 level. The impacts of the coronavirus lockdown were offset by “a good start to the year, not least due to the weather conditions” and “the continued operation of construction sites in March thanks to the quick actions of politicians.”
The organisation said that the situation was unprecedentedly unpredictable with orders and building permits currently in decline. It expects demand to partly tail off in the fourth quarter of 2020, falling by between 3 - 5%, as companies postpone or discard planned developments in the face of restricted budgets. It said, “Nonetheless, the government’s economic stimulus pacts will undoubtedly provide a positive impetus through such initiatives as public infrastructure and multi-family housing projects.
Argentina: Cement despatches fell by 30.6% year-on-year to 3.83Mt in the first half of 2020 from 5.51Mt in the same period in 2019. Data from the Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP) shows that monthly despatches from the local market, exports and imports hit a low of 0.41Mt in April 2020, a 55% year-on-year drop, before starting to recover. Despatches were 0.80Mt in June 2020m , a 7% decline from 0.86Mt in June 2019. Local consumption has fallen by a similar proportion.
Spain: Total domestic cement consumption was 6.19Mt in the first half of 2020, down by 17% year-on-year from 7.41Mt in the first half of 2019. Interempresas News has reported that the coronavirus lockdown caused consumption in the period to decrease. June consumption rose by 5.2% to 1.34Mt from 670,000t in June 2019.
Oficemen president Victor García Brosa said, “In June 2020 many of the works paralysed during the confinement, for example real estate developments, were resumed, but the monthly positive data should not make us think of a recovery in the sector." He added, “We continue to insist that construction is the driving force for the employment that our country needs right now and cannot continue to be forgotten by the administration. Other sectors such as the automotive or tourism sectors already have contingency plans activated, while ours continues to be largely forgotten, even though it could generate a significant volume of jobs.”
Japanese cement consumption back to normal
12 June 2020Japan: The Japan Cement Association (JCA) has reported that cement demand has resumed its pre-coronavirus outbreak levels, with all planned construction projects from mid-May 2020 going ahead. R&I News has reported that this follows the suspension of multiple major works during the crisis, leading to a domestic demand of 3.19Mt in April 2020, down by 7% year-on-year from 3.43Mt in April 2019. Although the JCA’s 2020 cement consumption forecast is 41.0Mt, the lowest since 1990, contractors will reportedly have a backlog of projects “even after the completion of projects related to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,” suggesting the likelihood of a considerable rise in demand year-on-year in 2021, set against a moderate decrease in the medium to long term.
Pakistan: Producers dispatched 3.52Mt of cement in April 2020, down by 24% year-on-year from 4.61Mt in April 2019. Domestic consumption was 3.27Mt, down by 19% from 4.04Mt due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Business recorder newspaper has reported that cement producers were already ‘struggling to survive due to extremely high input costs.'
The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said, "The decline in construction activities around the world, including in Pakistan, contributed to a downfall in demand, however, the cement sector even otherwise was operating under acute distress."