Argentina: Local cement despatches fell by 2.3% year-on-year to 11.8Mt in 2018 from 12.1Mt in 2017. Despatches in December 2018 fell by 17.9% to 0.82Mt from 1Mt in December 2017. Data from the Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP) also showed that exports rose by 10% to 81,191t from 79,173t.

Uruguay: The union at state-owned oil firm Administración Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland (ANCAP), has supported government plans for the state to buy locally made cement. Under the proposal, half of the government’s requirements for cement would have to come from ANCAP, according to the El Pais newspaper. The initiative is intended to support local industry and jobs.

Peru: Local cement despatches rose by 3.2% year-on-year to 11.1Mt in 2018 from 10.8Mt in 2017. Consumption rose by 3.7% to 11.2Mt from 10.8Mt. Data from the Asociación de Productores de Cemento (Asocem) showed that cement exports fell by 26% to 0.27Mt from 0.36Mt. Imports increased by 60% to 0.98Mt from 0.61Mt. Clinker exports rose by 63% to 0.9Mt and imports rose by 49% to 0.78Mt. 85% of cement imports came from Vietnam. 33% of clinker imports came from South Korea and 31% came from Vietnam.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has hired digital logistics company FarEye to improve its operations. The cement producer hopes to improve its distribution network through more information, better control of movements of goods and improved collaboration with third-party vendors, according to Dataquest. FarEye will use its proprietary platform to integrate internal and external stakeholders to provide real-time visibility at a trip level.

“On our wide distribution network handling volumes around 0.8Mt/month, pilferage and back-and-forward loading are some of the key operational challenges that we face. We believe that gaining better visibility into our vast network of multiple plants and about 10,000 destinations will help us control pilferage, optimize capacity and eventually help us deliver a superior customer experience,” said Shailendra Chouksey, a director at JK Lakshmi Cement.

FarEye also plans to add value by providing business insights across the value chain, which could help to increase efficiency, cut costs and increase profits. It will also digitise Vehicle Placement and introduce Electronic Proof of Deliveries.