Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement has ended a contract with Arab Swiss Engineering Company (ASEC). In April 2019 the companies signed a contract for ASEC to provide technical management at the producer’s plant. Reuters News has reported that the cement company will now undertake the operation of its production lines.

US: Martin Marietta’s total revenue remained stable at US$4.73bn in 2020. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% year-on-year to US$1.39bn from US$1.25bn in 2019. Cement shipments rose by 11.7% year-on-year to 1.1Mt in fourth-quarter of 2020 due to strong demand in Texas.

“As we move forward, we believe underlying demand fundamentals will reset, establishing 2021 as the year during which the nation regains its economic footing,” said Ward Nye, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Martin Marietta. He added, “We anticipate single-family housing growth, expanded infrastructure investment and notable heavy industrial projects of scale will support the company’s near-term shipment levels. We expect these demand drivers, combined with the ancillary construction necessary for housing community buildouts and the potential increased infrastructure investment from a comprehensive Federal surface transportation package, should provide for multi-year growth in product demand,”

China: The Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation has fined eight cement companies US$35m for price fixing. Caixin reports that seven companies in Shandong province formed Zibo United Cement Enterprise Management in 2017 to manage their arrangement through invoicing, sales, setting prices and coordinating operating regions. The extent of the anti-competitive behaviour between the companies extended to organising a price management committee to manage the arrangement by monitoring sales and even fining members in breach of its self-declared rules. As well as Zibo United, the other companies in the cartel were Shandong Baoshan Technology, Shandong Donghua Cement, Shandong Shanlü Environmental New Material, Zibo Luzhong Cement, Shandong Chongzheng Special Cement, Zibo Shanshui Cement and Linqu Shanshui Cement.

Colombia: Cementos Argos transported around 50,000t of cement by train in 2020. It plans to increase this by 30% year-on-year to 70,000t in 2021 as part of its sustainability strategy. The cement producer has started using the Belencito - Bogotá and Puerto Triunfo - Puerto Wilches routes as the country has started to revive railway lines in recent years.