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Peruvian cement production down so far in 2017 18 October 2017
Peru: Cement production fell by 3% year-on-year to 7.3Mt in the first nine months of 2017 from 7.5Mt in the same period in 2016. Data from the Association of Cement Producers (Asocem) shows that the third quarter of 2017 is the first quarter where production rose so far during the year. This was due to a 4.3% increase to 0.88Mt in September 2017 from 0.85Mt in September 2016.
Canadian cement industry meets with government 18 October 2017
Canada: Representatives from the Canadian cement and concrete industries have met with government ministers, members of parliament, senators and civil servants in Ottawa, Ontario as part of a two-day advocacy event.
"The cement and concrete industry is uniquely positioned to help all levels of government in Canada achieve their climate change priorities, while also ensuring best value for money invested," said Michael McSweeney, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Cement Association of Canada.
More than 60 industry delegates hailing from across the country and industries have gathered for the event. The delegation includes the CEOs of Canada's cement industry and representatives from the ready mixed concrete, insulated concrete forms, masonry, precast concrete and precast concrete pipe sectors. They hope to highlight the economic and lifecycle benefits of their products to legislators.
PPC workers strike at Slurry cement plant 18 October 2017
South Africa: Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members at PPC’s Slurry cement plant in North West province have gone on strike over wages. The NUM gave the cement producer a notice to strike in mid-October 2017 and then workers started taking action on 17 October 2017. The union wants a pay rise on 12% and other benefits, but PPC has only offered 6%.
JSW Cement to upgrade Dolvi plant 17 October 2017
India: JSW Cement plans to invest around US$277m towards increasing its production capacity and it is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 or 2020. The cement producer wants to increase the cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr in 2018 from 1Mt/yr at its Dolvi grinding plant in Maharashtra, according to the Press Trust of India. A further expansion to 4.5Mt/yr is scheduled for 2019.
"We expect huge demand for cement in the country and plan to expand our cement manufacturing capacity from 12.5Mt/yr to 20Mt/yr by 2020. We are adding 4.5Mt/yr at our Dolvi unit in Maharashtra and 1.2Mt/yr at out Vijaynagar unit in Karnataka, apart from 1.2Mt/yr adding at our Odisha unit,” said JSW Cement’s managing director Parth Jindal. He added that the company would wait for the outcome of the general election in 2019 and create a ‘healthy’ financial profile before launching the IPO. After raising money in the offering the company plans to reach a 30Mt/yr capacity by 2025 and 50Mt/yr in 2030 both through new builds and acquisitions.
Colombian Superintendent of Industry and Commerce reports evidence of price collusion 17 October 2017
Colombia: The Superintendent of Industry and Commerce (SIC) says that it has found evidence of price collusion from 2010 to 2012 between Cementos Argos, Holcim and Cemex. A report by SIC alleges that the three companies raised the price of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in a coordinated manner, according to the El Espectador newspaper. The producers have been given a time to respond to the allegations and they could face fines of up to US$8m each by the end of 2017.
However, the cement producers have denied the allegations and criticised SIC’s methods. In a response, Cementos Argos described SIC’s analysis of cement prices over a 36-month period as ‘ not appropriate.’ It also pointed out that the regulator had assumed a stable market share between competitors and that its own share had changed between 2007 and 2017.