Gypsum industry news

US: US gypsum wallboard sales grew by 1% year-on-year to 628Mm² during the first quarter of 2024. The country imported 20.1Mm² of gypsum wallboard, down by 13% year-on-year. Mexico supplied 19.3Mm² (96%) and Canada 800,000m² (4%) of imports. Meanwhile, the US exported 19.1Mm² of gypsum wallboard during the quarter, 18Mm² (94%) of it to Canada.

France: Saint-Gobain recorded €11.4bn in sales in the first quarter of 2024, down by 8% year-on-year compared to first-quarter 2023 levels. Group sales volumes fell by 4.7%, partly due to a 1.5% negative working day effect. Meanwhile, a negative group structure effect reflects on-going optimisation. New acquisitions during the first quarter of 2024 included Australia-based building materials producer and land banking entity CSR.

Saint-Gobain’s sales dropped by 10% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but grew by 6% in the Americas, where the group noted a ‘dynamic’ renovations market. Its sales also grew, by 4.5%, with ‘strong momentum’ in India. In Saint-Gobain’s High Performance Solutions business, sales declined by 5.4% year-on-year. The business’ sales to construction customers fell by 6.7% amid a decline in new project starts in Europe.

Saint-Gobain forecast resilience in the remainder of 2024, through its focused strategy and proactive commercial and industrial initiatives. It expects new construction to end its decline in Europe and all segments to ‘hold firm’ or recover in the Americas.

Brunei Darussalam/Indonesia: Siam-Indo Gypsum Industry delivered a shipment of gypsum products to Brunei Darussalam earlier in March 2024. The Borneo Bulletin newspaper has reported that the shipment will contribute materials for a 1000-unit housing development in country.

Importer VSL Systems reported that Indonesia's exports to Brunei Darussalam increased consistently year-on-year every year between 2018 and 2022.

North America: Market research company IMARC Group has quantified the North American gypsum wallboard market at 2.9Bnm² in 2023. In a report detailing the outlook for the nine years up to 2032, IMARC Group forecast a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6%, resulting in sales volumes of 3.6Bnm² in 2032.

Belgium: Etex reported sales of €3.81bn in 2023, up by 2.5% from 2022 levels. The company's recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) rose by 10% to €712m. It also raised its capital expenditure for the year, to €371m. Etex says that it was Europe’s leading gypsum recycling performer, with a recycling rate of 8.6% of all gypsum used. The group is ‘actively preparing’ to help rebuild Ukraine as soon as conditions permit.

CEO Bernard Delvaux said “Even more so than 2022, 2023 was a challenging year marked by volatility, uncertainty and severe drops in demand across the world, as we observed the continued impacts of increased energy prices and interest rates. Combined with tougher financing possibilities by banks, all these circumstances meant that both renovation and new construction levels dropped globally. Devaluation of some foreign currencies and hyperinflation accounting also had significant effects on our results. Despite all these challenges, I am extremely proud to share that Etex navigated these difficult waters very well and delivered yet again another record year. This includes our highest ever revenue and REBITDA, among others. This strong performance stems from our anticipation in making strategic decisions and changes at global, regional and local levels, ensuring continued proximity with our customers. This is also a result of even tighter cost monitoring in 2023, without ever losing sight of our long-term ambitions and continuing to improve our strong industrial footprint.”

North America: Market research firm IMARC Group has forecast a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6% in the North American gypsum wallboard market between 2024 and 2032. It attributed the anticipated growth to rising regional levels of construction activity, amid increasing urbanisation. Additionally, it expects gypsum wallboard to remain its market share within the building materials segment, as a cost-effective, easy-to-use product for both residential and commercial construction applications.

US: National consumption of gypsum wallboard dropped by 4.3% year-on-year to 2.51Mm² in 2023, according to United States Geological Survey (USGS) data. Demand for natural gypsum was 45Mt, up by 3% from 43.7Mt in 2022. The market imported 8.1Mt of gypsum throughout the year, up by 18% year-on-year.

Domestic production of crude gypsum in the US dropped by 1.3% year-on-year in 2023, to 22Mt. Exports grew by 15% to 45,000t.

US: Eagle Materials recorded sales of US$1.78bn in the first nine months of the 2024 financial year. This corresponds to a rise of 6.2% year-on-year from the corresponding period of the 2023 financial year. The producer’s light materials sales fell by 4.6% to US$703m, and its gypsum wallboard sales volumes fell by 4% to 206Mm². The group raised its net earnings by 11% to US$401m.

Morocco: Compagnie Marocaine de Plâtre et d’Enduit (CMPE), a joint venture of Knauf and Groupe Safari Maroc, has announced plans for a new gypsum wallboard production facility in Sidi-Tiji, Marrakech–Asfi Region. CMPE expects that the plant will generate 100 direct and over 500 indirect jobs.

Groupe Safari Maroc CEO Saïda Lamrani Karim and Knauf general partner Jörg Kampmeyer said "Our investment decision in a new plasterboard plant shows our trust in the growth of the Moroccan market and will strengthen the leading position of CMPE.” They added “This investment aligns with the Moroccan government's guidance to reduce imports and develop a competitive local industry of excellence. With our new production, we will supply the Moroccan market and export to Sub-Saharan markets."

US: Georgia-Pacific made total investments worth US$2bn throughout 2023. Major capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments include its US$325m construction of its second Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant in Texas.

Georgia-Pacific Gypsum president David Neal said "Georgia-Pacific is keenly focused on the future and committed to innovation and meeting the needs of our customers. The two [Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant] operations combined will supply customers and distribution partners with more than 93Mm²/yr of gypsum wallboard each year and create more than 100 new jobs. This investment strengthens Georgia-Pacific's capacity to meet growing customer needs in Texas' residential, commercial and industrial construction markets."