Moderate growth for European cement production

According to the most recent figures, CEMBUREAU has indicated that European cement production recorded a moderate growth of 0.9% in 2015, compared to the previous year. This translate to 248 million t of cement in the CEMBUREAU member countries. When this is put into a global context, CEMBUREAU members accounted for 5.4% of the 4.6 billion t produced. China remained the world’s largest cement producing country, accounting for just over 51% of global production.

Individual European markets recorded a mixed performance. For example, cement production in Spain grew by +3.3% in 2015. Nevertheless, in Italy the recession in cement production continued (-3.4% in 2015 further to -7.4% in 2014), as it did in France (-5%, further to -3.1%). Cement production gained further ground in several Eastern European countries, with strong performances recorded in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in particular. In the EU28 as a whole, cement production increased by +3.7% year-on-year - i.e. from 165.8Mt to 172Mt - marking the second consecutive year of recovery. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that 2015 EU28 cement production was some 37.3% below the peak of the previous cycle (2007).Looking at this from a broader EU economic perspective, EU GDP grew by +1.9% in 2015 (+1.4% higher than in 2014), although a slowdown was recorded during the second half of the year. Virtually no EU Member State recorded an economic recession in 2015. This has paved the way for expectations of positive GDP growth for the EU28 in 2016 (+1.9%), thanks to a combination of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Asset Purchase Programme (also referred to as Quantitative Easing, QE) and somewhat eased fiscal discipline in euro area countries.

Adapted from press release by Rebecca Bowden

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/15062016/moderate-growth-for-european-cement-production-280/