Colombia/US: Cementos Argos has announced plans to split into two independent companies. Colombia-based Argos Latam will serve Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, French Guiana, Suriname and eight Caribbean countries, while US-based Argos Materials will serve the US. Each company will have full autonomy to pursue growth and maximise value in its respective markets. A corporate support centre led by newly appointed executive vice president Tomás Restrepo will oversee the transition. Cementos Argos expects the process to take 24 months.

Cementos Argos previously sold its 31% stake in US-based Summit Materials to majority, now outright, owner Quikrete in February 2025.

Canada: Supplementary cementitious materials developer Carbon Upcycling Technologies closed US$10m in new financing on 1 April 2026. The company says that it will use the funds for a 30,000t/yr commercial CO₂-to-cement project in Ontario.

Peru: Unacem reportedly plans to maintain its volume of investments in 2026 in line with 2025. The investments will go towards increasing efficiency at the company’s Atocongo cement plant and the construction of its upcoming US$70m, 200,000t/yr Calcem lime plant in Condorcocha, due in 2027. Calcem is a joint venture with Mexico-based Grupo Calidra. Additionally, Unacem subsidiary Celepsa will begin building a US$190m solar power plant at Solimana, Arequipa, later in 2026.

Unacem noted double-digit cement market growth in Peru in February 2026, tempered by rising fuel costs and slowing shipments in March 2026. In the US, the group forecast stabilisation or a slight uptick in 2026, followed by recovery in 2027.

CEO Pedro Lerner said "In 2025, we invested in a new business – lime – a product that in Peru is primarily used in mining, specifically for floatation processes at concentrator plants. Unlike cement, lime ships very well. Cement shipments have slowed down somewhat, mainly from the Condorcocha plant, and we believe this is related to the higher cost of transporting material to its destination. Transporters are unable to pass on the fuel price increases."

Türkiye: Cement producers are confronting a ‘dual crisis’ of rising operating costs and ‘acute’ ship shortages, Platts has reported. Energy prices rose by 30% month-on-month in March 2026, while some freight rates rose even more sharply in the same period. Producers reliant on cost-insurance-freight contracts are particularly exposed. Resulting disruptions are reportedly preventing producers and exporters from benefitting from increased cement demand in key export markets.

Exporter Medcem Global’s trading and shipping director Ender Sahin told Platts "The freight on some routes has nearly doubled. It is becoming impossible to survive and continue the business."