Armenia: Cement was available in only two building supply stores in Yerevan on 30 September 2026, according to Arme News. One of these stores is supplied by Ararat Cement, which partially resumed deliveries on 29 September 2026 after being suspended more than two weeks previously. The owner of another building supply store imports cement from Iran, deliveries of which have reportedly been ‘problematic,’ with hundreds of trucks carrying cement stuck at the border crossing between Iran and Armenia. Other local business owners have blamed Iranian suppliers for the shortage. Armenia’s ambassador to Iran reportedly met recently with Iranian vice president Hamid Pourmohammadi to discuss the ‘obstacles’ to the flow of goods between the two countries and how to ‘overcome’ them.

US: SESCO Cement has welcomed the first two ships carrying bulk grey cement to its import terminal at Port Redwing in Tampa, marking the start of full commercial operations. The ships’ arrival comes after the company celebrated the terminal’s opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony in June 2026. Each vessel will make a partial discharge at the terminal before continuing to SESCO’s Houston terminal to complete delivery. The dual-port route links the company’s Florida and Texas operations and gives the company added capacity and flexibility to meet demand. The terminal features a custom-designed ship unloader and conveyor system, which moves bulk cement from the ship’s hold directly into SESCO’s storage silos. The unloader arrived in Tampa earlier in 2026 after nearly two years of engineering work.

US: Pakistan-based DG Khan Cement despatched 43,000t of low-alkali cement from his Hub cement plant to Houston, US, on 29 September 2026. DG Khan said via social media that it was a pioneer of Pakistani cement exports to the US, beginning in 2022, and it thanked its logistics partners for the ‘timely and efficient’ execution of the despatch.

Austria: RHI Magnesita has confirmed that it is in advanced discussions with the board of UK-based refractory manufacturer Vesuvius regarding a possible offer for the entire share in Vesuvius. On 29 September 2025, RHI approached Vesuvius with its first non-binding proposal regarding an offer of £4.48/share (€5.24/share), which was rejected. Since then, RHI has made a series of revised proposals, which have all been rejected.

A revised proposal was made on 27 August 2026, which is currently being considered by the board. Under the terms of the latest proposal, Vesuvius shareholders would receive £4.70/share (€5.49/share) and approximately 0.028 new RHI shares for every Vesuvius share. Based on the RHI share price as of 28 September 2026, the latest proposal values each Vesuvius share at £5.49/share (€6.42/share). Vesuvius shareholders would receive approximately 7.1 million new RHI shares and hold approximately 13% of the share capital of RHI following completion of the transaction. Discussions remain ongoing between the boards of RHI and Vesuvius, but there can be no certainty that a firm offer will ultimately be made.