India: Construction has stalled in Tamil Nadu because consumers are reportedly unable to buy cement. The supply chain has been disrupted because police have shut shops across the state following breaches of social distancing rules after the partial easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

Ramco Cements Managing Director Arrakundal Dharmakrishnan said, “We have instructed our dealers that they must follow social distancing norms.”

In neighbouring Telangana, chief minister Kalvakuntla Rao has extended the lockdown period to 29 May 2020, subject to a review on 15 May 2020 that may result in the resumption of construction works and the re-opening of non-essential shops.

Colombia: Cementos Argos’ first quarter profit was US$1.00m, down by 73% year-on-year from US$3.76m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 0.2% to US$545m from US$547m. The volume of cement it sold fell by 6.1% to 3.62Mt from 3.86Mt in the corresponding period of 2019. The company launched RESET, a savings initiative in response to the coronavirus outbreak, which aims to save between US$75.0 and US$90.0m in 2020.

Cementos Argos’ CEO Juan Esteban Calle said, “Given the US$154m-strong cash position of the company, the saving initiatives within RESET, the support from our stakeholders, and the passionate commitment of our more than 7000 employees, we firmly believe that Argos is fully prepared to face the current market conditions.”

Colombia’s coronavirus lockdown ended on 13 April 2020 for infrastructure projects and on 27 April 2020 for cement production and residential and commercial construction. On 5 May 2020 Cementos Argos said that domestic demand was at 50% of pre-lockdown levels.

US: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim has named the eight recipients of its 38th annual Gygi and von Wyss Foundation Scholarship. LafargeHolcim subsidiary US Cement CEO Jamie Gentoso said, “It’s essential to invest in the education of the next generation and, with the rising costs of higher education, scholarships are more important than ever to help reduce the impact and assist in these students’ success.” Under the scholarship scheme, children of LafargeHolcim employees in the US can receive US$6000 towards higher education for a year and again for three subsequent years subject to academic performance.

India: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has asked the government to restart home and road building to help cement producers. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that all construction work has stalled since 25 March 2020 due to the coronavirus lockdown. The FICCI believes that Indian cement demand is currently set to decline by 10-12% year-on-year. To relieve the sector, the FICCI urged the Indian government to lift the lockdown in metropolitan areas in order to allow the continuation of residential construction, which accounts for 60-65% of cement demand.

To protect domestic producers from any import dumping post-crisis, the FICCI has suggested that Indian cement sales should be subsidised. It also requested a ‘relaxation of environmental emission norms’ until mid-2022 ‘to save the industry from additional capex expenses.’