Recent construction data for major developed markets

• June’s 11.3% increase in US cement shipments appears to have been mainly caused by the drier weather. • COVID-19 related shutdowns appear to have had little or no impact. • June’s shipments were particularly strong in Chicago (+98%), Tennessee (+40%), Arizona (+28%) and Georgia (+25%). Conversely there was a substantial decline in June 2020…

Changes in exchange rates in August 2020

• Volumes were weaker in July in the emerging markets that we monitor. • For the 12 countries where data is currently available, cement shipments in July 2020 were lower than in July 2019 in 7 countries, whereas they increased in five. There were double-digit percentage declines in four countries (Argentina, India, Indonesia and Morocco)…

• The 5.6% decline in July 2020’s shipments over July 2019 was probably partly due to the exceptionally strong comparative of +17% in July 2019. It may also have reflected the wetter and warmer weather in July 2020, as well as any disruption caused by COVID-19 preventative measures. • Cement shipments in July 2020 were…

• Comparison of 15 global cement companies Q2/half year results. This note compares the performance in the second quarter and first half of 2020 of 15 of the largest cement companies globally. These include six global companies headquartered in the developed world (Buzzi, CRH, Heidelberg, LafargeHolcim, Titan and Vicat) and three headquartered in emerging markets…

Latest quarter comparative results analysis of US/North America Based Businesses

Our Q2 / half year reporting season starts next Monday (27 June) for the nine companies that we publish forecasts for with Cemex being the first to announce. Recent industry data and Heidelberg’s Q2 preliminary announcement suggest that the quarter ended more strongly than expected due to a speedier recovery from lockdowns in developed markets…

Margins at region and country level

Chinese companies again dominate