Consistent demand from the construction sector maneuvered the global cement market through the pandemic and promoted its further expansion. The robust growth currently being seen in the Asian residential and infrastructural sector is set to become a key market driver in the near term.

Key Trends and Insights

Despite the fact that many cement plants remained idle and inactive during the Covid lockdown, 2020 figures indicate that global cement production remained consistent with 2019 output (4.2B tonnes, IndexBox estimates). The demand for cement is buoyed by construction industry growth in the USA, India, and China and building renovation works in the EU and other countries.

Vietnam (+7.6% CARG), Indonesia (+5.6% CARG), India (+5.5% CARG) and China (+4.4% CARG) indicated the most significant rate of consumption growth from 2007 to 2020.

The announcement of large-scale construction projects in the Asia-Pacific region has secured confidence regarding a stable growth in demand for cement in the near term. In June 2020, Vietnam adopted public-private partnership legislation to attract investment into the housing construction sector. The government’s five-year development plan to 2024 in Indonesia envisages the development of megacities and the construction of a new capital in Eastern Indonesia. In 2020, India launched the state initiative The Housing for All, which outlines the construction of 11M housing units for the poor by 2022. The housing construction sector in China will expand further due to the substantial increased investment seen in 2021.

In the USA, suburban construction continues to develop; it started during the pandemic, following the shift to remote working and the drive to move away from the large cities. The subsidized mortgage rates in Russia continue to buoy the construction market. IndexBox forecasts that over the 2020-2030 period, the global cement market is set to expand at an average annual rate of 1.8% CAGR, reaching 5.0B tonnes by 2030.

In 2020, many global cement manufacturers announced the expansion of their product lines, plans to use renewable sources of energy and decarbonization initiatives. Systems to capture greenhouse emissions from cement plants are seeing widespread installation in developed countries. As the ‘green’ agenda gains momentum, reducing the carbon footprint is set to become an important issue for manufacturers in terms of maintaining their competitive edge. This issue may acquire particular relevance in the EU market, where a ‘carbon tax’ is set to be introduced.

Cement Consumption by Country

China (2,375M tonnes) remains the largest cement consuming country worldwide, comprising approx. 56% of total volume. Moreover, cement consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, India (339M tonnes), sevenfold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by the U.S. (104M tonnes), with a 2.5% share.

In value terms, China ($184B) led the market alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by India ($16.5B). It was followed by the U.S.

The countries with the highest levels of cement per capita consumption in 2020 were China (1,620 kg per person), Viet Nam (911 kg per person) and the U.S. (314 kg per person).

Global Cement Imports

In 2020, approx. 96M tonnes of cement were imported worldwide; waning by -4.4% compared with 2019. In value terms, cement imports stood at $7.5B in 2020.

In 2020, the U.S. (15M tonnes), distantly followed by Hong Kong SAR (4.1M tonnes), France (3.8M tonnes), Israel (3.3M tonnes), the Netherlands (3.2M tonnes), the UK (3.1M tonnes), Sri Lanka (2.2M tonnes), Afghanistan (2.1M tonnes), Kuwait (2M tonnes), Singapore (1.8M tonnes), Poland (1.7M tonnes), Cambodia (1.7M tonnes) and Hungary (1.5M tonnes) were the major importers of cement, together making up 48% of total imports. The following importers – Hong Kong SAR (4.1M tonnes), France (3.8M tonnes), Israel (3.3M tonnes), the Netherlands (3.2M tonnes), the UK (3.1M tonnes), Sri Lanka (2.2M tonnes), Afghanistan (2.1M tonnes), Kuwait (2M tonnes), Singapore (1.8M tonnes), Poland (1.7M tonnes), Cambodia (1.7M tonnes) and Hungary (1.5M tonnes) – together made up 32% of total imports.

In value terms, the U.S. ($1.3B) constitutes the largest market for imported cement worldwide, comprising 17% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by France ($372M), with a 5% share of global imports. It was followed by the UK, with a 4% share.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform