German cement demand tipped to record no growth in 2012

Italian exports of stone and marble products rose 7.4% to €835.4 million in the first half of 2012, according to a survey carried out by Italian stone industry trade fair Marmomacc. Exports went up by 23% to the US, from €101 million in 2011 to €124.7 million in 2012. Exports to Russia rose by 3.8%, and those to Germany from €72.3 million to €78.5 million - an 8.6% increase.

Global cement consumption is expected to grow throughout 2015 and continue throughout the next year, but at the slower rate than in the past.

A report released by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) indicates that cement consumption among developed economies increased by roughly 9.2 million tonnes in 2014, followed by another 9 million tonne increase in 2015.

“Most of the gains in developed world cement consumption is attributed to North America,” said Edward J. Sullivan, chief economist and group

In 2012, the Austrian cement industry saw sales remain stable with 4.46 million tonnes, compared to 4.43 million tonnes in 2011, according to the association of the Austrian cement industry VÖZ. The industry is increasingly facing price pressure. Turnover dropped by 4.7% to €375 million and this is attributed to the fact that different types of cement are being demanded and sold at different prices.

The Indian cement industry's production capacity to grow by 25 million tonnes/year in 2014/2015 fiscal year, 23 million tonnes/year in 2015/2016, and 8 million tonnes/year in 2016/2017, according to ICRA, a national independent credit rating agency. ICRA expects cement producers in India's eastern region to raise capacity by 20 million tonnes/year from 2014/2015 to 2016/2017, compared to 13.4 and 7.9 million tonnes/year respectively in the northern and southern region. ICRA reported that cement output grew