First-Half Domestic Cement Sales Drop Below 20 Million Tons for First Time in 33 Years, Worse Than Asian Financial Crisis

18.88 Million Tons... Down 17.4% Year-on-Year
Worse Performance Than During the IMF and Global Financial Crises

Domestic cement industry sales in South Korea have fallen below 20 million tons for the first time in 33 years. This is a weaker performance than during both the Asian financial crisis and the U.S.-triggered global financial crisis.

Cement factory exterior. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

On August 1, the Korea Cement Association announced that domestic cement shipments for January to June of this year reached only 18.88 million tons, a 17.4% plunge compared to the same period last year. This is the first time since 1992, when 19.76 million tons were shipped in the first half of the year, that the figure has dropped below the 20 million ton mark in the first half. It is also the lowest first-half domestic sales figure for cement in the past five years.

In particular, just two years after peaking at 26.04 million tons in 2023, sales have dropped by 27.5%. This performance is even weaker than during the 1998 Asian financial crisis (21.48 million tons) and the 2008 financial crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse (24.04 million tons). As a result, the financial results of the seven major companies (including Hanil Cement, Sampyo Cement, and Asia Cement), which are about to be announced, are also expected to worsen.

The background to this decline is the prolonged slump in the construction industry. Although the rate of decline in domestic cement sales eased in the second quarter (down 13.8%, 10.75 million tons) compared to the first quarter (down 21.8%), thanks to the start of the peak season, the overall downward trend is unlikely to be reversed, according to industry sentiment.

A Korea Cement Association official stated, "In the second half of the year, the decline is expected to ease further as delayed construction projects commence and business activities resume. However, this will not be enough to reverse the ongoing slump in the construction sector, and with the government's SOC budget being reduced, the recovery is likely to be limited." The official added, "Facing an unprecedented demand cliff, the domestic cement industry has already entered crisis management mode. Unless highly effective measures to stimulate the construction industry are introduced, it will be difficult to see any significant improvement, and this year's domestic cement sales are expected to fall well below 40 million tons."