Displaying items by tag: coronavirus

Mexico: Cemex has temporarily stopped production in Mexico following a government decree issue by the Health Ministry of Mexico in response to the coronavirus epidemic. The building materials company says it has maintained communication with the federal government to resume operations should the authorities decide that the construction industry should be prioritised.

“For Cemex, the health and safety of our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers and communities is a top priority,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex. “As soon as the COVID-19 threat emerged, we activated our Rapid Response Teams to implement preventive measures in response to this unprecedented health crisis.” He added that 90% of Cemex’s customers use it Cemex Go online sales platform. The company had also identified US$200m in cost-saving initiatives for 2020 and it is evaluating the delay of certain capital expenditures that had been planned for this year, among other measures.

Vietnam: Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that clinker exports fell by nearly 40% year-on-year to 7.5Mt in the first quarter of 2020. Clinker export values dropped by 19% to US$360m in the same period, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Previously, the Ministry of Construction forecast that cement demand would increase by up to 5% to 103Mt in 2020 due to a recovery in the real estate market. Around a third of this was expected to be exported. Local consumption of cement and clinker grew by 2% year-on-year to 98Mt in 2019.

Argentina: Loma Negra plans to restart cement production at its plants depending on local demand. It is currently supplying public infrastructure projects from existing stocks, according to Infoeme. The subsidiary of Brazil’s InterCement stopped production following a national quarantine due to the coronavirus outbreak in late March 2020. However, the building materials producer has been included by the government on a list of essential activities so it can resume operation when it wants.

Turkey: Yibitas Yozgat has stopped clinker production for approximately three months due to ‘market conditions’ at its integrated plant near Yozgat in the Central Anatolia Region. The subsidiary of Brazil’s Votorantim said that it had enough stocks to meet current sales. It does not expect production and sales to be negatively affected by the decision.

Colombia/El Salvador/US: Mexico’s Elementia has stopped operations in El Salvador and Colombia to stop the spread of coronavirus in line with local government recommendations. It expected to resume operations in mid-April 2020. However, this may be modified based on ‘successful virus containment.’ However, it intends to continue operations in the US as the government has declared its industry as ‘essential.’ It added that it is maintaining all necessary sanitary measures to minimise transmission of the virus.

Trinidad & Tobago/Barbados: Trinidad Cement has halted most of its operations in Trinidad & Tobago and temporally halted operations at its Arawak Cement subsidiary in Barbados following government advice in each country with regards to coronavirus. It said that it had stopped ‘almost all operations’ at its Trinidad Cement integrated plant except for activities related to maintaining the kiln and the continuation of some port operations. Both lockdowns are expected to last initially until mid-April 2020. The subsidiary of Mexico’s Cemex said that it expected the global response to coronavirus would negatively affect economic growth in the Caribbean. To counter this it has delayed certain capital expenditure planned for 2020 and it is maintaining inventory at its facitlies to serve customer demand.

Dominican Republic: Cemex has used its concrete mixer trucks to aid a disinfection day in San Pedro de Macorís, where the company operates an integrated cement plant. The local subsidiary of the Mexican company supported a cleanup drive coordinated by the Dr Antonio Musa Regional Hospital to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Cemex trucks transported soap and water and company volunteers helped local officials. Further initiatives are planned in the city.

Austria: RHI Magnesita’s revenue from its cement and lime sector rose by 6.4% year-on-year to Euro344m in 2019 from Euro324m in 2018. It attributed the growth to selective price increases, product portfolio choices and market share gains specifically in China, the Middle East and Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It said that demand for its products in Europe had been ‘slightly’ weaker in 2019 due to customer inventory build-up in 2018 as a result of tightening magnesite and dolomite raw material availability. It forecast a stable market in 2020 however it said that coronavirus was likely to affect this.

Overall, the company reported a 6.5% fall in revenue to Euro2.9bn in 2019 due to decreased revenue in its steel division. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell at a similar rate. However, coronavirus aside, chief executive officer Stefan Borgas expected the company’s Production Optimisation Plan to continue strengthening the business.

Mexico: The National Cement Chamber (CANACEM) has suspended the activity of all member producers with cement plants in the country following the government’s national industrial shutdown in response to coronavirus. The suspension will last until 30 April 2020, during which time employees will draw their full salaries. CANACEM President Jaime Rocha Font said, "It is necessary to carry out technical, operational and administrative actions in each of the plants whose activity will be suspended in order to be able to completely stop operations in a safe and technically orderly manner.” Companies have until 10 April 2020 to complete the shutdown.

Cement dispatches to public and private works, as well as to the country’s 62,000 cement retailers, will proceed until 3 April 2020.

Spain: Coronavirus has forced the suspension of operations at all Cementos Molins facilities, in accordance with a royal decree. Europa Press has reported that the company began the progressive shutdown of the 1.6Mt/yr integrated line at its Sant Vincenç dels Horts cement plant in Barcelona, Catalonia, on 31 March 2020, and switched off the plant on 2 April 2020.

Cementos Molins said that it has already suspended production in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia and Tunisia. It says it has ‘implemented the teleworking model in the areas of the company where its application is possible.’