Cement consumption in the first eight months of the year reached 7 397 362 t, 5.6% more than in the same period of 2014.
This percentage increase is less than at the close of the first six months, when growth stood at 8.6%. This moderation in the growth trend is due to the behaviour of the last two months, July and August, that together produced a cumulative decline of 2% compared to the same period in 2014.
In July, consumption fell for the first time since September last year with a 5.3% decline that failed to offset the slight increase of 2.2% experienced in August. Cement consumption in August stood at 880 866 t, 19 075 more than in the same period last year. However, in July, the consumption reached 1 063 274 tons, 59 708 less than in the same month of 2014.
"2015 will be a year marked by strong volatility, in which we see growth and falls; something the last recorded figures show", explained the CEO of Oficemen, Aniceto Zaragoza.
Adapted from press release by Joseph Green