Cement: Trading

Regional list prices, few giants and a cartel history

Cement has no futures market. It is sold by producers to ready-mix firms and contractors at regional list prices, often with announced annual increases. A few multinationals dominate many markets, and the industry has a long record of cartel cases. Seaborne cement and clinker are priced in bilateral deals, and price-reporting agencies such as Argus publish seaborne cement and clinker assessments. Mergers keep reshaping the US industry. In 2025 a Swiss group spun off its North American business, and a German group bought a Mexican producer's US assets.

Where it is bought (buyers)

• Ready-mix producers, precasters and contractors buy bulk cement under supply contracts
• In India, dealers and retailers sell bagged cement to individual builders; institutional buyers tender for large projects
• The US is the largest importer (24.1% of 2024 world import value, about 25 Mt), followed by France, the Philippines, the Netherlands and Italy (UN Comtrade)

Where it is sold (sellers)

• Integrated producers sell into regional markets around their plants
• Turkey (12.0% of 2024 export value), Egypt (9.1%), Germany (6.7%), Canada (5.8%) and Spain (4.5%) lead exports (UN Comtrade)
• Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan export 8-12 Mt each at average unit values of $31-36/t, low enough to suggest mostly clinker (2024 UN Comtrade)

Exchanges and benchmarks

Contract types

• Bagged retail sales through dealer networks (India trade segment)
• Bulk supply contracts with ready-mix and precast firms
• Government and infrastructure tenders
• Seaborne cement and clinker cargoes to terminals

Top trading houses

• No dominant trading houses; producers' own trading arms and terminal operators handle most seaborne trade

How prices are discovered

• Company realisations disclosed in quarterly results (India: Rs 4,779-5,555/t in Q4 FY2025)
• Dealer price surveys by ratings agencies and brokers (ICRA, CRISIL)
• USGS average mill value and customs unit values