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Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico were 7.3 million mt in July 2012, according to the USGS. This was about 7.0 percent higher compared with shipments for July 2011. Shipments for the year through July were 44.4 million mt, up about 14 percent for the same…

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Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd. announced a management shake-up as new Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana said the Swiss cement maker may need to further streamline its business in Europe to stem falling demand. Holcim will introduce a “leaner and more efficient” structure, including a new head of Europe, as of September 1. The cement maker also cut its outlook for the…

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Raleigh, N.C.-based FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, announces the release of its “Third Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index Report.” Plunging 5 points, the index is back to Q2-2010 levels.

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Officials in Berkeley County recently celebrated the completion of a $10 million railroad spur project that is expected to help Essroc Italcementi Group’s Martinsburg, W.Va., plant ship thousands of tons of product each year via rail instead of area highways. About 100 people attended the official dedication and ribbon cutting for the 1.2-mile rail spur, which connects the plant to…

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Cemex Latam Holdings, S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cemex España, S.A., presented to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia an application to list its shares on the Colombian stock exchange and to offer a minority of Cemex Latam’s shares in a public offering to investors in Colombia and, in a concurrent private placement, to eligible investors outside of Colombia. Cemex…

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The Portland Cement Association recognized Cemex Executive Vice President Frank Craddock as the winner of the 2012 John P. Gleason, Jr., Leadership Award. Presented at association’s recent annual fall committee meeting in Chicago, the award honors employees of member companies who have exhibited industry leadership by taking the PCA in new directions. Awards are presented in two categories of key…

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North American portland cement consumption increased 11.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 against the same quarter in 2011. Both the U.S. and Canada recorded double-digit gains of 11.8 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, according to Portland Cement Association’s Survey of Portland Cement by User Group report.

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A recently proposed standard for particulate matter for the cement industry will allow plants to develop new control and compliance strategies to address this and other emissions while preserving vital manufacturing jobs, according to statements Portland Cement Association issued recently at a public hearing in Arlington, Texas.

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The Holcim (US) Inc. cement plant in Holly Hill, S.C., has been named the medium-sized manufacturer of the year by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “Holcim believes that active involvement in the communities in which it operates is essential to the success of its business,” the chamber said in an announcement about the honor.

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After large-scale floods destroyed vital Iowa infrastructure in 2011, Ash Grove Cement Co.’s Louisville, Neb., plant stepped up production to meet the demand of several large-scale reconstruction projects. The company supplied cement for the reconstruction of Interstate 680 and the Keg Creek Bridge replacement on US Highway 6, east of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both projects won recognition in the America’s…

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