US: The Environmental Protection Agency has recognised Cementos Argos’ South Carolina Harleyville Plant’s commitment to sustainable development in the United States with a second Energy Star. The award acknowledges energy efficiency and preservation of environmental resources 25% above that of comparable facilities across the US. The plant joins Argos’ consecutive Energy Star-holding plants at Newberry, Florida and Roberta, Alabama.

UAE: Three mill shells for iron ore processing have been constructed and successfully conveyed to Antwerp today by Hoffmeier. From there, they will embark for a productive life in the UAE.

Predictably, the recent investigation by the Tariff Commission in the Philippines on whether to maintain duties on imported cement recommended that the safeguard duty be kept. It even suggested raising the rate to nearly US$6/t from US$4/t at present. The report has been passed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which will make the final decision on the matter.

Graph 1: Market share of the Philippines cement industry between local producers and traders, 2013 - 2018. Source: Tariff Commission of the Philippines.

As the commission built its argument it released a great snapshot of the local cement industry and it’s well worth a read for anyone who is interested. One key graph here was the speed at which the market share of cement sold by local producers fell compared to importers from 2013 to 2018. As Graph 1 shows above, traders imported 0.29Mt in 2015 and this rose to 4.66Mt 2018. Imports by local producers also grew during this time but at a far slower rate. They were 0.45Mt in 2015, grew to a high of 1.65Mt in 2016 and then stabilised at around 1Mt/yr since then. Seven of the top 10 cement exporters were Vietnamese companies followed by two from China and one from Thailand. However, the local producers were importing clinker on a far larger scale during this period. 16.8Mt of clinker was imported from 2013 to 2018 led by Holcim Philippines with 5.54Mt or a 33% share. In Holcim’s case this was coming from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Elsewhere, the report established the various production capacity upgrades the local cement producers had invested in or were planning to in the near future. Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, for example, was reported as planning an expansion to its Cebu plant production line from 2022 to 2025. It then looked at kiln capacity utilisation rates, prices and how profits have changed amongst much else. It concluded that the import surge from 2015 to 2018 had depressed prices and decreased the profitability of the local producers. This fitted its definition of ‘serious injury’ as one reason to impose a safeguard duty on imports.

Importers presented a different scenario to the commission during its investigation and afterwards. Phinma, for example, told local press that the commission’s comparison calculation of the costs behind local and imported cement didn’t take into all the costs the importers endured such as a local distribution and handling once in the country. The Philippines Cement Importers Association reiterated the view of its members that they were simply meeting market demand, that local producers had caused their own problems through overcapacity and that profits varied considerably amongst local producers, amongst other arguments. This has been borne out by some of the half-year results amongst the local producers. Eagle Cement, for example, saw its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grow by 21% year-on-year to US$80.6m.

With the publication of the commission’s report the DTI has been handed the impetus to hold up or even raise the duty on imported cement. Based on its actions in recent years the ministry seems likely to do so. This presents a contrast to Trinidad & Tobago where importer Rock Hard Cement won a legal battle earlier in August 2019 against competitor and Cemex-subsidiary Trinidad Cement over the classification of imported cement products. These kinds of trade conflicts are likely to proliferate whilst global production capacity outstrips demand but the outcomes may vary.

Russia: Eurocement has appointed Stefan Noev as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its Maltsovsky Portland Cement subsidiary. The company operates a 4.2Mt/yr integrated plant in Bryansk Region. Noev is a graduate of the Technical University of Sofia in Bulgaria and he has worked for Italcementi and Suez Cement. He joined Eurocement in 2016 and managed its Sengileevsky integrated plant in Ulyanovsk region.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has appointed Libby Pritchard as Director of Construction Materials Safety & Policy in its PCA Government Affairs team. She will also hold the same position in a joint role at the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association.

Previously, Pritchard worked as a social scientist at the National Science Foundation (NSF) responsible for writing briefs highlighting NSF-funded projects for dissemination to US Congress and conducting data analyses. She also worked as the Environmental Services & Land Use Coordinator at Wildish Sand & Gravel and was chair of Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association ESH Committee from 2017 - 2018. Pritchard holds two Masters of Science degrees in the fields of Geography and Water Resources Policy & Management from Oregon State University.

UK: Breedon Group has appointed Nigel Clamp as Group Head of Health, Safety and Environment. He will assume overall responsibility for the health and safety of Breedon’s 3000-strong workforce, as well as overseeing the group’s environmental and sustainability activities.

Clamp joins Breedon from HeidelbergCement, where he was Health & Safety Director for the company’s Africa & Eastern Mediterranean Basin Region. He was previously Senior Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) Manager at Hanson, prior to which he served as Head of Safety at National Express. He spent the earlier part of his career in a number of quarry management and SHE roles with Lafarge.

China: Tianrui Cement’s revenue rose by 27.6% year-on-year to US$778m in the first half of 2018 from US$610m in the same period in 2017. Its profit grew by 63.9% to US$131m from US$80m. Its cement sales volumes rose by 9.8% to 14.6Mt. Sales increased faster in Central China than Northeastern China. It attributed the result to its market strategy and increased prices.

Panama: Argos Panama plans to install a line for the production and storage of clinker at its plant in Buena Vista, Colón Province. In an environmental impact study submitted to Panama’s Ministry of Environment, Argos estimated the total cost of the project, called the Balboa Project, at US$168m.

Dominican Republic: Adriano Brunetti, the president of the Dominican Association of Portland Cement Producers (ADOCEM), says that local production is forecast to grow by 8% year-on-year to 4.8Mt in 2019. His prediction was based on 12.5% growth in the construction sector in the first four months of the year, according to the Acento newspaper. He added that local cement producers have a production capacity of around 8Mt/yr. The country exports around 1Mt/yr to other countries in the Caribbean.

Afghanistan: The Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has reported progress in discussions on projects totalling an investment of US$350m, including improvements to the Jabal Siraj and Samangan cement plants worth US$170m and US$136m respectively.

Wadsam reports that the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries has voiced concerns as to delays caused by the lengthy approval process for the ‘much-needed projects.’ With the successful conclusion of these talks, the plans will require the ratification of the High Economic Council and subsequently the Afghan Cabinet.