Monthly Report of Cement Net: In May 2025, the Demand Continued to Be Low, and the Price Decline in Many Markets Was Difficult to Stop

1. Overview

of national and regional market (I) National market: Demand continued to be depressed, and the decline of market prices in many places was difficult to stop

. In May, due to factors such as holidays and plum rains, the construction of downstream construction sites and mixing stations recovered slowly, and the demand for cement was weak. At the same time, some enterprises'clinker lines resumed operation, high inventory pressure, fierce market competition, and cement prices continued to fall. At the beginning of May, the National Cement Price Index (CEMPI) was 122.84 points, closing at 115.45 points at the end of the month, down 7.31% from the previous month and up 1.43% from the previous year.

From the perspective of regional demand, the six regions are generally light. Specifically, the recovery of infrastructure projects in East China is slow, and the demand is far less than expected; the temperature in Northeast China is suitable, and the demand is relatively stable; the impact of low-price cement in Central and South China is greater, and the demand is obviously insufficient; there are few new projects in Southwest China, and the demand is weak; the market in North China is running in the off-season, and the demand is seasonally declining; there is only a small amount of infrastructure demand in Northwest China.

Figures 1 and 2: May 2025 National Cement Price Index (CEMPI), Cement Price Index (CEMPI) K-line

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

Cost. At the end of May, the average spot price of 5500 kcal steam coal was 623 yuan/ton, down 5.89% annually and 29.76% year-on-year. In terms of place of production, some mining areas stopped production due to accidents, most of them were in normal production, and the supply increased to a certain extent compared with April; from the demand side, the daily consumption of power plants was in the low range of the year, the pattern of coal supply and demand remained loose, the market pessimism has not been reversed, and the coal price continued to decline. At the end of the month, the cost of coal per ton of cement was about 60.99 yuan/ton, which was 3.82 yuan/ton less than that at the end of April, and the cost pressure continued to ease. At the end of May, the cost price difference between cement and coal was 238.57 yuan/ton, down 7.66% from the previous month, and the price difference between cement and coal narrowed. In terms of

benefits, the average cost of coal per ton of cement in May was 61.91 yuan/ton, which was 3.98 yuan/ton less than that in April. The average cost of coal per ton of cement continued to decline. The average price of cement in May was 361.16 yuan/ton, which was 22.2 yuan/ton less than that in April. The decline of cement price was greater than that of coal cost. It is expected that the cement profit situation in May will deteriorate to a certain extent compared with April.

Figure 3: Cement price, coal cost and price difference in May 2025 (yuan/ton)

Data source: cement big data (https://data.ccement.com/)