Cement sales reflect 6% year-over-year drop in June
Cement sales continue reflecting month-to-month and year-over-year drops.
Puerto Rico’s cement sales, a key economic indicator, decreased by 6 percent last month in comparison to the same month in 2010, the latest Government Development Bank figures reveal.
Slightly more than 1.4 million, 94-pound bags were sold last month, in contrast to the more than 1.5 million that moved in June 2010.
The island’s cement sales have been consistently dwindling for the better part of this year; activity began to spiral in April, after peaking the prior month at 1.9 million bags sold.
Production numbers also dropped to 1.2 million bags in June 2011, from 1.3 million bags in June 2011, nearly 9 percent. There are only two companies producing cement on the island — Cemex and San Juan Cement Co.
The cement market’s ongoing decline is a reflection of the struggle the island’s construction sector has had with a sagging economy, which has resulted in stalled projects and dozens of bankrupt developers in the last five years.
