Economy & Market

Rail freight hike may impact cement margins : India Ratings

Published

12 years ago

February 26, 2013

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India Ratings-Mumbai-27 February 2013: The proposed 5.79% increase in rail freight as per the Railway Budget 2013-2014 may negatively impact the margins of the cement industry. In the event cement manufacturers are unable to pass on the rail freight cost hike, their operating margins may reduce by 75bps-100bps.The cement manufacturers of South India will be particularly affected, given the unfavorable demand-supply situation may not be in a position to pass on the increased cost. However, cement players based in the rest of India would be able to pass on a significant portion of the cost increase. The railway freight hike may potentially increase the cement price by INR2 to INR4 per bag.Around 50%-60% of the freight expense of a typical cement company is related rail freight. This is essentially 15%-18% of total costs. Around 10.5%-11.0% of rail freight (by volume) is attributable to the cement industry. This is second only to coal which accounts for 45%-47% of the rail freight.The overall Stable to Negative outlook on the cement sector remains unchanged (please refer to ‘2013 Outlook: Indian Cement Manufacturers‘, dated 10 January 2013 and available at www.indiaratings.co.in.)

Concrete

Cement industry to gain from new infrastructure spending

Published

7 days ago

July 24, 2025

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As per a news report, Karan Adani, ACC Chair, has said that he expects the cement industry to benefit from the an anticipated US$2.2tn in new public infrastructure spending between 2025 and 2030. In a statement he said that ACC has crossed the 100Mt/yr cement capacity milestone in April 2025, propelling the company to get closer to its ambitious 140Mt/yr target by the 2028 financial year. The company’s capacity corresponds to 15 per cent of an all-India installed capacity of 686Mt/yr.

Image source:https://cementplantsupplier.com/cement-manufacturing/emerging-trends-in-cement-manufacturing-technology/

Concrete

AI boom drives demand, says ACA

Published

7 days ago

July 24, 2025

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The American Cement Association projects a nearly 1Mt annual increase in US cement demand over the next three years, driven by the surge in AI data centres. Consumption by data centres is expected to grow from 247,000 tonnes in 2025 to 860,000 tonnes by 2027. With over 5,400 AI data centres currently operating and numbers forecast to exceed 6,000 by 2027, the association cautions that regulatory hurdles and labour shortages may impact the industry’s ability to meet demand.

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Concrete

GoldCrest Cement to build plant in India

Published

1 week ago

July 23, 2025

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GoldCrest Cement will build a greenfield integrated plant with a 3.5Mt/yr clinker capacity and 4.5Mt/yr cement capacity. GoldCrest Cement appointed Humboldt Wedag India as engineering, procurement and construction contractor in March 2025 and targets completion by March 2027. It has signed a 40-year supply agreement with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation for 150Mt of limestone from its upcoming Lakhpat Punrajpur mine in Gujarat.