Nghe An construction materials market has a sharp price drop at the end of the year but is still sluggish
(Baonghean.vn) - Contrary to the annual rule, the construction materials market in Nghe An at the end of the year continues to be gloomy, difficult to sell even though the construction season has been in progress for several months; many items are in large backlog such as bricks, cement, stone, sand, etc.
Sharp price reduction on sand, bricks... still sluggish
In Nghia Dong commune, Tan Ky district, along the Con river, there are many docks filled with sand but no one comes to buy.
A sand dock owner in Nghia Dong commune shared: “Tan Ky sand and gravel are favored by customers because of their even, beautiful grains and high cleanliness.construction seasonSand here is usually out of stock, but for the past few months, cars have been buying it drop by drop. Our sand port has over 8,000 m of stock.3. Unsold sand caused the whole production line to stop and workers to be unemployed.
Some sand ports in Tan Ky area, although sand prices have decreased from 180,000 VND/m3down to 100,000 VND/m3but no one came to buy. In the districts of Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, the construction sand market also decreased from 85,000 VND/m3down to 70,000 VND/m3 but also lack of customers, exploitation is left behind, some mines have to temporarily stop or operate at a low level.
Similar to sand, construction brick products are also in stock. Tan Ky area has 4 brick factories that currently have a lot of stock. Some brick production units have had to stop operating for the past few months because there are no more warehouses to store the products.
Factory RepresentativeTunnel bricks and tilesTan Ky said that the unit has 2 brick factories in Ky Son and Tan Long communes, due to the lack of sales in the past 4 months, there are over 20 million bricks in stock. Currently, the brick factory in Ky Son commune has temporarily stopped operating 2 months ago; the brick factory in Tan Long commune will continue to stop operating until January 30, 2024. Over 400 workers of the 2 factories are forced to take turns off work, operating at a standstill.
In Tan Ky district, there are still many brick products in stock. Some brick production units have had to temporarily stop operations for many months now because there is no more space to store the products.
Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, owner of a construction materials business in Dien Thai commune (Dien Chau) said: Compared to the same period last year, the purchasing power of most construction materials of our agency such as cement, iron, steel... has decreased sharply, only half of the same period last year.
In addition, finished construction materials such as paint, tiles, and sanitary equipment in Nghe An are also facing difficulties in consumption. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, owner of an interior materials store on Le Hong Phong Street - Vinh City, said: "At the end of the year, the consumption of paint and wall tiles is very slow. The store only sells some paint and tile products to families renovating their houses. It is almost impossible to sell to large projects."
Cement factories operate at a standstill
For cement manufacturing enterprises, at this time, they are also facing difficult domestic consumption and business losses. For example, Tan Thang Cement Factory in Quynh Luu District has an operating capacity of 2 million tons of products/year, operating since the beginning of 2020. Due to difficulties in consumption, since the beginning of 2023, the factory has had to stop clinker production and suffered quite a lot of losses.
A representative of Tan Thang Cement Factory shared: Since the beginning of January 2024, the factory has found small orders in the US market and has resumed operations, however, production has only reached 50-60% of capacity.
Similarly, Hoang Mai Cement Factory is also operating at a standstill due to difficult output, with cement prices dropping from 50 USD/ton to 47 USD/ton. From the beginning of 2023 to now, the factory has only produced 1.4/1.7 million tons/year. In 2023, the factory lost over 30 billion VND.
To gradually overcome the difficulties, cement factories in the province are focusing on solutions, looking for some domestic and export markets; approaching public investment projects in the province to supply cement. At the same time, continuing to research and apply technology to reduce product costs and increase competitiveness.
According to experts, recently, public and civil construction projects have decreased, have not started or are only in the early stages, so the demand for construction materials such as sand, bricks, and cement is low. Meanwhile, projects such as the North-South Expressway, coastal roads, and N5 road section Tan Ky... are nearing completion, so the demand for construction materials has decreased./.
