Azerbaijan: The State Statistics Committee recorded cement production of 1.85Mt in the first half of 2026, down by 4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, clinker production rose by 3%, to 1.91Mt. Trend News Agency has reported that cement inventories stood at 206,000t and clinker inventories at 391,000t on 1 July 2026.
China: West China Cement expects to record a net profit of US$49.9 – 55.4m in the first half of 2026, down by 50 – 55% year-on-year. The producer attributed the anticipated decline to a drop in its cement sales volumes and selling prices.
US: California Attorney General Robert Bonta has filed a US$2.8m lawsuit against what he called CalPortland’s ‘negligence,’ claiming that its Redding cement plant in California started the Wonder Fire to the north of the city in 2023. The California Department for Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said that CalPortland called for assistance on 24 July 2023 after a blaze broke out in vegetation on the company's property near its private railway, where five bulk storage rail cars had been moving. An employee was unable to suppress the fire and called 911, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit states that Cal Fire's investigator found some brake shoes on the 1976 locomotive were ‘significantly worn,’ allowing metal components of the brake shoes to make contact with the locomotive's metal wheel. The lawsuit claims that this metal-on-metal contact emitted molten metal and sparks capable of igniting dry vegetation along CalPortland's tracks.
The Wonder Fire was reported on 24 July 2023 near Wonderland Boulevard and Fawndale Road north of Redding and Mountain Gate in Shasta County. The brush and timber fire burned 65 hectares before reaching 100% containment on 28 July 2023. No one was injured and no structures were damaged in the fire that prompted temporary evacuations of the Bridge Bay Marina and other nearby areas, according to Cal Fire.
CalPortland has reportedly not responded to an email request for comment.
Afghanistan: Gulbahar Cement Factory has started construction of an upcoming US$143m, 1.1Mt/yr cement plant in Herat’s Zinda Jan district. Pajhwok Afghan News has reported that the plant will generate 5000 new jobs in the area.
Global Cement News previously reported plans for an expansion of the same capacity and price to the unfinished Injil cement plant outside Herat in October 2023. It remains unclear whether the latest news affects this project and possibly signifies a change of plans.
