In this article we are going to list the 15 largest cement companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest cement companies in the world.
The cement industry is one of the most important industries in the world, not just due to its own output, which alone makes it massively important but also how integral it is to other major industries which themselves are worth trillions of dollars on a global scale such as the chemical industry or the construction industry, the latter of which is entirely dependent on cement for its own output. The cement industry sees the consumption of four billion tons of cement every year, contributing 5.4 of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing around 7.7% of the global workforce. It is the second most used products after potable water. These fact and figures just serve to show the importance of the cement industry and the integral work cement companies are engaged in.
However, despite the aforementioned integrality of the cement industry, many countries have laws mandating green areas to avoid their countries become concrete jungles. And rightly so, as every country should have greenery, forests and large open spaces which have scientifically been proven to be beneficial for human development. These are generally developed economies which can afford to take such stances and have introduced strict rules and regulations to ensure that the companies adhere to the aforementioned rules and do not take undue advantage. After all, the cement industries alone accounts for nearly a tenth of the total global greenhouse gases. Because of these restriction, which tend to ebb away a company’s profits, cement companies have started to move to developing economies, who are more than happy to welcome such companies to help develop integral infrastructure to improve the standard of living in such countries, and because of this, have very relaxed regulations, which can allow these companies to flourish, albeit at the expense of greenery. Furthermore, due to the low standards of living in these countries, labor cost is quite low as well, which is very beneficial to an industry as labor intensive as the cement industry.
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However, no matter how huge the industry, it has been unable to sail smoothly through as world altering a year as 2020, and the worst pandemic in a century. While the pandemic may have originated in China, it barely maintains any presence in the country, preferring to take over the entire world instead. As of now, it has infected nearly 50 million people and killed more than 1.2 million people. While the first wave was bad, we are currently engulfed in a second wave which may even be worse than the first one, and considering the number of cases, is already much worse than the first one. When confronted with a virus who origin, way of spreading and effect was unknown, most countries had to resort to lockdowns in order to combat the virus, and these national lockdowns saw all residents being forbidden to go out unless for extenuating circumstances, resulting in billions across the globe basically locked in their own homes. Of course, as people couldn’t go out, industries came to a halt as well, especially those which couldn’t operate from home, thus mainly affecting the manufacturing industry for which labor is required to be present on site. Thus, for most countries, the first relaxation in lockdown came in allowing such industries to open. However, weeks and months of lockdown has ensured that most cement companies have greatly suffered, with reduced orders, reduced production and high costs, which will lead to many small businesses folding. While the 15 biggest cement companies in the world will ideally survive this due to their resources, many others won’t.
At a country level, while there are thousands of cement producers across the world, just five countries account for nearly 75% of all production, with China alone responsible for 57% of the global production. So basically, be ready for a lot of Chinese companies to make our list. The other major countries are India, Vietnam, the United States of America and Indonesia. For more information you can take a look at the top 12 largest cement producing countries in the world. Due to the high fragmentation in the industry, just the top 10 accounts for 50% of all cement production in the world. Due to the high capital required and lowering demand, many cement companies have struggled to attain high returns, while the high costs act as a barrier to entry for potential new entrants. While the current assessment is that the industry will contract by 6%, the true impact will only be determined later on. To find out the top cement companies in the world, we have referred to either Forbes or the annual reports of the company to obtain their market cap, revenue, operating profit and total assets, all of which have formed an integral part of our rankings. Where we have been unable to obtain the market cap, we have simply used the same ranking as their ranking according to their revenue as an approximation. Most lists just use production or revenue as singular criterion, which is why our list is much more accurate. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the companies largely responsible for one of the biggest industries in the world, starting with number 15:
15. China Shanshui Cement (HKG:0691)
Latest market cap (in billions of dollars): N/A
Revenue for latest fiscal year (in billions of dollars): 3.09
Profit for latest fiscal year (in millions of dollars): 428
Total assets for latest fiscal year (in billions of dollars): 3.865
China Shanshui Cement is based in Hong Kong, and its primary businesses include the trading of cement, concrete and clinker, as well as the manufacture of cement. It is further involved in the manufacturing and sale of materials pertaining to construction via its subsidiaries.
Copyright: kadmy / 123RF Stock Photo
