Coal news and updates

India’s cement output falls 6.04% in Oct m-o-m

December 18: India’s cement production (except ACC and Ambuja Cements) stood at 20.39 million tons (mt) in October 2014, down 6.04% from 21.7 mt produced in September 2014, according to a compilation by ICMW.

During the corresponding month of the previous fiscal of 2013-14, India’s cement production stood at 20.61 mt.

During the first seven months of the current financial year of 2014-15, total cement production stood at 155.89 mt as compared to 144.18 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.

Cement manufacturers are currently operating at around 75% of the total installed capacity while the remaining 25% continues to lie idle due to lack of adequate orders, said an industry source. However, the cement industry looks quite optimistic of a slight improvement in the market in the near future, he said.

Despite lukewarm demand, some of the major cement manufacturers are in capacity addition mode and are coming up with new grinding units in central India. This is primarily due to ready availability of ash, he added.

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