Spain: Cement consumption grew by 7% year-on-year to 3.69Mt in the first quarter of 2023 from 3.46Mt in the same period in 2022. The Spanish cement association Oficemen noted that March 2023 had been a strong month for growth, especially due to a transport strike in March 2022, and that elections may have also helped due to a subsequent boost in infrastructure spending. Despite this, exports fell by 6% to 1.34Mt from 1.43Mt.

Brazil: Data from the Brazilian National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) shows that total cement sales fell by 1.2% year-on-year to 14.7Mt in the first three months of 2023 from 14.9Mt in the same period in 2022. SNIC has blamed the decline in consumption on a poor economic situation, household debt and political uncertainty. Sales fell in all regions, except for the northeast, with a particular dip in the central-west area. Exports dropped by just under 50% to 58,000t. 12-month accumulated sales have been following a general downward trend since a peak of 64.8Mt in June 2021 compared to 62.5Mt in March 2023.

Paulo Camillo Penna, the president of SNIC, said “Projecting the government's expectation and the use of the input in the promised units until 2026, the cement industry in Brazil projects an increase of 8Mt of cement, if all constructions are made of masonry blocks, and of 12Mt, in the case of using concrete walls.”

Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has congratulated City Cement on achieving the advanced level assessment as part of the Future Factories Program. The program uses the SIRI methodology (Smart Industries Readiness Index), which represents the global index adopted by the country to measure how industrial plants are adopting digital developments, such as interconnectivity and software-based automation, with assessments conducted by accredited evaluators. The government is promoting the initiative to raise industrial efficiency, reduce costs and create jobs.

Malaysia: YTL Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) to support the transition of the local construction industry to sustainable construction practices. Under the deal, YTL Cement will also contribute to the Construction Industry Development Board’s (CIDB) goals by rolling out human resource development programmes, research and development initiatives.

As part of the MOU, YTL and the CIDB will jointly design training programmes for young adults to be certified as concrete technicians and develop the training syllabus for accreditation programmes of qualified personnel in operations. It is hoped that this will assist in attracting, retaining and growing skilled workers in the construction industry. CREAM will work with YTL Cement’s team of experts to conduct research and development on lower embodied carbon alternatives in materials and construction methods. CIDB and YTL Cement will also work together to increase awareness on the embodied carbon of the construction sector by providing channels for discussions and knowledge transfer among industry practitioners and experts.