In recent years, cement from Vietnam has gained importance in terms of amount purchased, as in 2016 it represented just 0.01% of total regional imports and in 2020 it became the main supplier, as the share went up to 32%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In recent years, cement from Vietnam has gained importance in terms of the amount purchased, as from January to September 2018 they represented 10% of total regional imports and for the same period in 2020 the proportion rose to 30%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In Guatemala, Cemex S.A. plans to invest close to $16 million in the expansion of its production plant located in the municipality of Puerto de San José, department of Escuintla.
According to the interactive platform "Construction in Central America" of CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence Unit, Cemex Guatemala S.A., submitted to the Ministry of Environment the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) to develop the project called "Arizona Plant Capacity Expansion".
During 2020, it is estimated that the average price of a ton of steel increased 19%, a rise that impacts the construction industry and is explained by the increase in logistics costs and the suspension of the extraction of the material due to the outbreak of covid-19.
Central American businessmen report that during last year, which was marked by the sanitary and economic crisis, the average price per ton of steel increased by $130, going from $670 to $800.
During the first quarter of 2020, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $48 million, and purchases from Turkey increased 154% compared to the same period in 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
Hardware store sales in Central America are projected to register a considerable drop, which would be mainly due to the expected decline in retail sales of paints.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering different scenarios for the coming months.
In Guatemala, between January and February of this year, the price of 22-gauge steel sheet fell 2%, and the price of rustic pine formwork wood increased 2%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the price variations of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that make up the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using December 2018=100 as the base month.
The impact of the covid19 crisis on the construction sector in Central America is expected to be explained, to a greater extent, by the expected fall in the business of prefabricated steel structures.
The Legislative Assembly approved in second debate a bill that aims to tax in the country the sale and self-consumption of imported or locally produced cement.
The initiative, which was approved in the first debate in the Assembly in mid-February and is still pending approval by the Executive Branch, establishes that the tax will be on imported cement produced nationally, in bags or in bulk, for sale or self-consumption, of any kind, whose destination is the consumption and marketing of the product nationally.
After investing $7 million, Grupo Monterrey began operating a factory in the municipality of Amatitlan with the capacity to produce 4 million blocks per month.
The industrial plant, whose facilities have an area of 4 thousand square meters, is located at kilometer 32 on the Pacific route, in the Rancho Grande industrial park. The factory has a mega blocks machine with European technology and a temperature-controlled warehouse for drying the block.
In Guatemala, between January 2019 and the same month of this year the price of the white porcelain sink with accessories rose 5%, and the 3/8" diameter and 20" long rod was reduced 6%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the price variations of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that make up the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using December 2018=100 as the base month.
In Guatemala, between January and December of last year the price of 16 gauge steel wire rose 16%, and that of structural galvanized steel sheet, die-cut, 26 gauge, was reduced by 5%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the variations of the prices of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that integrate the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using as base month December 2018=100.
In Guatemala, between January and November of last year, the price of 3/8" diameter, corrugated, legitimate iron rod fell 9%, and that of structural galvanized steel sheet, die-cut, 26 gauge, fell 5%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the price variations of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that make up the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using December 2018=100 as the base month.