Gypsum industry news
New Zealand: The government has established a taskforce to tackle the on-going national gypsum wallboard shortage. Scoop News has reported that the taskforce consists of industry experts. The body says that it will renew the focus on competition in the building materials sector. Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods has written a letter to Winstone Wallboards' parent company Fletcher Building regarding trademark protections, specifically urging it not to take action on its product colour trademarks. The taskforce also plans to explore new distribution models and investigate the potential of new products in the New Zealand market.
Megan Woods said "The taskforce has a very clear aim: to increase sector productivity as quickly as possible, and to remove any unnecessary barriers, including around certification, to facilitate the use of different types of plasterboard."
US: Gypsum wallboard companies sold 629Mm2 of gypsum wallboard in the first quarter of 2022, in line with first-quarter 2021 sales, according to US Geological Survey (USGS) figures. They exported 16.9Mm2, up by 6% year-on-year from first-quarter 2021 volumes. Canada received 15Mm2, 94% of exports. The US Census Bureau recorded gypsum wallboard imports of 22.2Mm2, up by 28% year-on-year. Mexico supplied 19.1Mm2 (86%), while Canada supplied 2.89Mm2 (13%).
In the first quarter of 2022, national natural gypsum production was 5.33Mt, up by 2.1% year-on-year from 5.22Mt in the first quarter of 2021.
