Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has announced that its revenue fell by 10% during the third quarter of 2019 on the back of lower sales volumes. The UK-listed, Kazakhstan-based producer of construction materials said that revenue for the third quarter was US$27.0m compared with US$29.9m in the year earlier period. The company said that sales volumes for the quarter fell by 11% to 576,692t. For the first nine months of 2019, Steppe Cement’s revenue rose by 10% to US$630m.

Spain: Cement consumption in Andalusia fell by 3.3% in August 2019 to 221,970t. For January – August 2019 total consumption was 1.87Mt. It is thought that this is due to reduction in the region’s construction sector and a lack of civil works.

Exports fell by 58% year-on-year, reaching 88,136t, around 124,719t less than in August 2018. The accumulated value for 2019 is currently 46% lower year-on-year, at 731,720t.

Italy: The Italian cement industry decreased its overall CO2 emissions by 8.9% in 2018 compared to 2017, in part by replacing a higher proportion of fossil fuels with alternative fuels and biomass fuels. The proportion of alternative fuels used increased to 19.7% in 2018 compared to 17.3% in 2019, according to Federbeton. This translates to 387,000t of alternative fuels.

Puerto Rico: Cement sales in Puerto Rico experienced a year-on-year fall of 7.4% in September 2019, to stand at 43,500t, the eighth consecutive monthly fall. Meanwhile, overall domestic cement production rose by 1.0% in the month under review, to reach 41,000t. This is the third increase reported to be observed during the first nine months of 2019.