Who's driving the world economic train?

That cement markets in many emerging countries around the world have demonstrated strong growth over the past few years, while markets in the developed countries have languished, is no secret. Faced with long-term falling profit margins in more developed markets, global cement manufacturers such as Lafarge, Holcim, and HeidelbergCement, have for some time allocated resources increasingly in favor of emerging markets such as Africa, the Middle East and Russia. These strategic objectives have helped global providers to insulate their operations against the recent economic weaknesses noted in U.S. and European markets.

 

However it was not always true that emerging markets were able to grow as economies in the western consumer nations fell in economic cycles. And today the cement sector must ask whether emerging markets can continue to prosper irrespective of what happens to the developed economies.

 

Read the full article in the latest issue of the CemWeek Magazine here.