Coal news and updates

India’s cement output falls 9.26% in Aug m-o-m

October 16: India’s cement production (except ACC and Ambuja Cements) stood at 20.58 million tons (mt) in August 2014, down 9.26% from 22.68 mt produced in July 2014, according to a compilation by ICMW.

During the corresponding month of the previous fiscal of 2013-14, India’s cement production stood at 18.71 mt.

During the first five months of the current financial year of 2014-15, total cement production stood at 113.81 mt as compared to 102.55 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.

The cement manufacturers are currently 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 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:

# Figures may not tally as the data is provisional.