Swiss cement deliveries to fall again in 2024

The slow recovery of the economy, the uncertain economic situation and the rather high energy prices had a negative impact on construction activity, wrote the industry association Cemsuisse in a press release on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope: There was a turnaround in the final quarter, which is also cautiously optimistic for the current year, Cemsuisse wrote. Cement deliveries rose by 2.1% to 894,000 tons in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Various factors are likely to be the reason for the recovery. "In particular, the unexpectedly strong decline in inflation, low interest rates and their positive impact on construction activity lead to a cautiously positive forecast," wrote Cemsuisse.

The industry has made further progress in terms of its CO2 balance. The proportion of cement types with a lower clinker content and therefore lower CO2 emissions rose to almost 97 percent after just under 96 percent in the previous year.

In contrast, the proportion of cement transported by rail fell slightly compared to the previous year to 37.4% (previous year 37.6%). Although this share is still high, this decline clearly shows how central attractive framework conditions are for rail transport and that these must not be allowed to deteriorate in the future, the association wrote.