Drop in cement deliveries signals construction decline

Cement deliveries, a coincident indicator of construction activity in the country, eased by 4.55 percent month-on-month to 488,690 tons in July compared with 511,973 tons in June. On a cumulative basis, cement deliveries declined by 5.32 percent year-on-year to 3,075,466 tons during the first seven months of 2012, from 3,248,415 tons a year earlier. The average monthly growth rate in cement deliveries reached 4.32 percent during the first seven months of 2012 compared with a higher 7.21 percent growth in the same period in 2011. The compounded annual growth rate in cement deliveries reached 7.62 percent during the period extending between July 2006 and July 2012, mirroring the strong appetite for the realty sector during the post-war period. From DailyStar