[Special Topic] Operation Analysis and Prospect of Concrete Industry in the First Quarter of 2024

2024-04-22 10:18:23

In the first quarter of 2024, the demand for infrastructure fell short of expectations, housing projects continued to shrink, and the concrete industry continued to weaken. By the end of March, the National Concrete Price Index (CONCPI) closed at 122.38 points, down 1.8% from the beginning of the year. Compared with the same period in 2023, the concrete price index fell by 12.8%.

In the first quarter of

2024, due to the impact of local government debt, the capital arrival rate of some regional infrastructure projects was low, the investment scale was facing contraction pressure, and the actual landing volume was less than expected. In terms of real estate, the willingness of terminal consumption is low, the sales volume of commercial housing is further reduced, the industry inventory generally maintains a high level, and the capital repayment of real estate enterprises has not improved significantly. In this context, the real estate industry is still dominated by the digestion of stock projects, and the momentum of investment growth is weak.

According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the cumulative growth rate of infrastructure investment (excluding electricity) in January-March 2024 was 6.5%, down 2.3 percentage points from the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, investment in real estate development in China fell by 9.5% year-on-year, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the same period in 2023.

Figure 1: The decline of real estate investment is widening, and the growth rate of infrastructure is falling year-on-year (%)

Data source: Cement Big Data (https://data.ccement.com/)

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Correlation

On April 1, 2025, the Second Session of the Fifth Council of Sichuan Cement Association and the 2025 Working Conference were successfully held in Chengdu. The meeting was presided over by Du Yunlong, Secretary-General of Sichuan Cement Association, and invited Qing Jiasheng, Director of Material Industry Department of Sichuan Economic and Information Department, Chen Qiang, Head of Atmospheric Department of Sichuan Ecological Environment Department, Yan Songlin, a first-level researcher, to give guidance. Heads and key personnel of the Party Branch, Secretariat, Board of Supervisors, Executive Group and Supervisory Group of Sichuan Cement Association, heads of major cement enterprises in Sichuan Province and their sales leaders,