France: Aggregate production falls 3.3% in November 2013

In April 2014, sales of aggregates fell 7.8% on the previous month and 5.9% on April 2013, reports Unicem, the French national union of quarries and construction materials. Sales of ready-to-use concrete fell 1.9% in April as compared to the previous month, and 6.2% compared to April 2013. In the first four months of 2014, sales of aggregates rose 6% year-on-year, while sales of ready-to-use concrete rose 2.3%.

French cement producer Ciments Français has posted turnover of €899 million for Q3 2013, down 1.5% year-on-year. At a constant exchange rate, turnover rose by 3.7%. Over a nine-month period, aggregate sales fell 1.6% to 23.1 million tonnes, while ready-mixed concrete sales rose 3.5% to 7.1 million m³, and cement and clinker sales declined by 3.4% to 28.6 million tonnes due to a fall in Egyptian activity. Since the start of 2013, Ciments Français registered consolidated turnover of €2.73 billion, down 3.4% y

France's national union of quarry industries and construction materials (Unicem) reports an activity decline of 3.4% in May 2014, confirming the downward trend witnessed in April.

Ready-mix concrete production was stable at 0.2% in May but down 2.3% compared with May 2013.

The aggregates sector was down 5.6% in May 2014 compared to May 2013. There was a 3.4% increase in public works contracts carried out between April 2013 and April 2014. Housing starts have declined since the beginning of 2014, with