China: The coronavirus outbreak which began in China’s Wuhan province has forced the China Cement Association to postpone its CementTech 2020 cement industry supply conference in Anhui province. The conference was due to take place on 25-27 March 2020 at the International Conference and Exhibition Centre in the province’s capital of Hefei.

US: On 4 February 2020, PCA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Ed Sullivan predicted that US cement demand would rise by 1.7% in 2020 and may rise by as much as 2.7% if residential construction exceeds expectations. Sullivan stated that demand would maintain moderate growth through at least to 2022. “As long as the economy continues to grow and create jobs, the economy will remain on solid ground and continue to support cyclical portions of the cement market,” he said.

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Akhangarantsement produced 1.9Mt of cement in 2019, a rise of 16% year-on-year from 1.6Mt in 2018. The company attributed the growth to a programme of ‘modernisation of the equipment at the Akhangarantsement aimed at increasing productivity, energy efficiency and reliability of production,’ without any disruption to supply. Akhangarantsement general director Gennady Kulikov said, “The coordinated work of the entire team allowed us to fulfil the tasks assigned to the plant with honour.”

US: National Gypsum has launched Permabase WP Waterproof Cement Board, a 1.3cm-thick cement board with a waterproof core, reinforced edge and smoother surface and stronger tile bond than previous Permabase boards for mould and moisture resistance and ease of cutting and installation. National Gypsum product manager for Permabase Tony Fuller said that “National Gypsum is committed to creating innovative products with performance benefits” for construction.