Cement sales up 20% in H1

Pent-up construction demand from 2011 and new infrastructure projects have driven cement sales up in the first half of 2012, according to the group of cement manufacturers.

Cement sales from January to June this year reached 9,546,363 tons, up by about 20 percent from year-ago level, according to data from the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of the Philippines (Cemap).

Cemap president Ernesto Ordoñez attributed the sales increase to higher infrastructure spending, which was a combination of new infrastructure projects for 2012 and the pent-up demand from last year.

The government last year deferred the implementation of various projects for review. This resulted in the drop in demand for construction materials, including cement.

The implementation of these projects, on top of infrastructure projects lined up for this year, jacked up demand for construction materials.

Cement sales, according to Cemap, are expected to remain strong for the rest of the year, with the prevailing good investment climate seen to further boost construction activities in the country.

The cement industry reported combined sales of 15,624,930 tons for 2011.

Cemap groups cement producers that include Cemex Philippines, Holcim Philippines, Lafarge Cement Services, Northern Cement, Pacific Cement and Taiheiyo Cement Philippines.

The National Statistics Office reported in June increases in the prices of cement, sand, gravel, hollow blocks, common wire nails, electrical wires and corrugated GI sheet. The retail price index of these construction materials rose to 1.9 percent from-0.1 percent in May. Year on year, the retail price index of these construction materials in the National Capital Region increased to 4.7 percent in June from 2.6 percent in May.

The Department of Public Works and Highways’ Daanghari-SLEx link road and the Department of Education’s school building infrastructure, which will be implemented under the public-private partnership framework, have been auctioned off earlier. The government is lining up more projects for bidding this year.