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• Create Date November 24, 2023
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Quarterly Cementitious sales (estimate) and Imports: 3rd Quarter 2023

Domestic cementitious sales is estimated to have declined for the 3rd consecutive quarter on a year-on-year basis, down 2.2 percent y-y, following a similar decline in the first half of 2023.  This is in line with trends shown in trade sales of construction materials (based on an average of wholesale and retail trade sales) over the same period, with a slower increase in wholesale trade sales for Q3, against a continued contraction in retail hardware sales.  Following a robust 36 percent y-y increase in imported cement in Q2, imports increased by a further 27 percent y-y in Q3. The cement material price index slowed to an average of 4.8 percent y-y in Q3, the lowest annual increase in five quarters and compared to an average increase of 8.3 percent in the first half of 2023. Meanwhile local producers are struggling to maintain operating profit margins, against weaker building demand and higher input costs. Margins averaged between 4 and 5 percent based on latest financial results.

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