US: Continental Building Products' net sales have risen by 10% year-on-year to US$343m in the first nine months of 2016 from US$311m in the same period of 2015. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 8.6% to US$100m from US$92m. Its gypsum wallboard sales volumes rose by 18% to 176Mm2 from 149Mm2. The company attributed this in the third quarter of 2016 to stronger demand in major construction markets, especially from new residential construction and overall in the southeast of the country.

"For the third consecutive quarter, we experienced stronger demand in our markets east of the Mississippi which drove the 6% net sales growth versus last year," said Jay Bachmann, Continental's chief executive officer.

US: Gypsoil is stopping production at its pelletised gypsum fertiliser plant in Winona, Minnesota. The plant has been shut down due to poor market demand, according to the Winona Daily News. The US$5m plant opened in early 2016. It used synthetic gypsum from coal smoke stack scrubbers in Ohio.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has received UL certification for DuraCore 300 chopped strands used to reinforce wallboards in the building industry. The product is manufactured at JM's facility in Slovakia. The certification recognises the product for performance and safety standards.

"Our customers can continuously rely on UL certified DuraCore products with improved dosing consistency and dispersion in wallboards," said Jared Cox, Global Product Manager-Chopped Strands Fibers for JM Engineered Products.

India: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started investigating officials at Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) for corruption related to the sale of gypsum. The CBI is exploring whether a cartel was formed between FACT and Nagarjuna Chemicals to sell fertiliser-derived gypsum to NSS Trade India Private Limited at a significantly lower rate than the market value, according to the Times of India. In addition a clause in an agreement between the companies suggest that they may have intended to keep the price of gypsum artificially high to the end clients.