Coal news and updates

India’s cement output falls 3.08% in June m-o-m

August 20: India’s cement production stood at 22.99 million tons (mt) in June 2014, down by 3.08% from 23.72 mt produced in May 2014, according to a compilation by ICMW.

During the corresponding month of the previous fiscal of 2013-14, India’s cement production stood at 20.19 mt.

During the first three months of the current financial year of 2014-15, total cement production stood at 70.55 mt as compared to 64.42 mt produced during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Total cement production during 2013-14 stood at 255.63 mt compared to 248.23 mt recorded during the previous year.

Market conditions having slightly improved, cement manufacturers are operating at around 75% of the total installed capacity while the remaining 25% is still lying idle due to lack of adequate orders, said an industry source. However, the cement industry is a bit optimistic about further improvement in the market in the near future, he said.

Despite lukewarm demand, some of the major cement manufacturers are in a capacity addition mode and coming up with new grinding units in central India. This is primarily due to ready availability of ash, a senior cement industry official said on conditions of anonymity.

The following table shows India’s month-wise cement production in 2012-13 (revised), 2013-14 and 2014-15: