Gypsum industry news

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan produced 42,600t of construction gypsum during 2022, up by 15% year-on-year from 2021 levels. There was 1900t of construction gypsum in warehouses at the end of the year.

The total value of building materials produced in Azerbaijan rose by 13% year-on-year in 2022, to US$635m.

New Zealand: The government has renamed its Plasterboard Taskforce as the Critical Materials Taskforce and extended its remit to other building materials alongside gypsum wallboard. The expanded taskforce's aim will be to prevent product shortages, with a focus on maximising productivity and cushioning the effects of supply-side dangers. The government foresees further materials shortages amid anticipated 'global trade headwinds.'

Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods said “While we can be optimistic about the opportunities for our economy, we also need to remain cautious. We know we are facing a period of global turmoil." Woods continued “The Critical Materials Taskforce will build on the successes of the Plasterboard Taskforce, and use the valuable lessons learnt to be proactive and forward-looking, so we can identify emerging risks and respond as quickly as possible. Bringing together construction, building consent and supply chain experts into a taskforce earlier this year showed how government and the sector successfully worked together to troubleshoot plasterboard shortages quickly and pragmatically.”

New Zealand's gypsum wallboard imports grew by a factor of five year-on-year to 4.6Mm² during the first 10 months of 2022. Domestic producer GIB said that it will continue to operate at full production capacity through the 2022 Christmas - New Year period in order to rebuild resilience stock levels. The company continues to make deliveries based on an allocation system. It asked customers to contact their retail suppliers if they have any spare pallets for collection, to help with deliveries.

US: Gypsum wallboard producers sold 1.32Bnm² of gypsum wallboard in the first half of 2022, a similar amount to that in the first half of 2021. Total supply of gypsum fell by 2% to 20.3Mt from 20.8Mt. This was due to decline in mined gypsum supplies, although imports rose and synthetic gypsum supply remained the same.

Exports of gypsum wallboard fell slightly year-on-year to 18.6Mm² throughout the second quarter of 2022, up by 10% year-on-year from 16.9Mm². Canada received 95% of US gypsum wallboard exports. The US imported 22.9Mm² of gypsum wallboard from eight countries. The figure corresponds to an increase of 10% year-on-year and 3% quarter-on-quarter. Mexico supplied 91% of US gypsum wallboard imports, followed by Canada with 8%.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building Materials recorded consolidated sales of US$5.37bn during its 2022 financial year, up by 4.7% year-on-year from US$5.13bn in the previous year. Its net earnings also rose by 42%, to US$273m from US$193m.

The group's building materials division, which includes Winstone Wallboards, contributed US$1.02bn-worth (17%) of group sales. The business delivered 'strong' volumes, with pricing initiatives effectively offsetting cost inflation. The latter particularly impacted imports of raw materials. The business made capital expenditure investments of US$129m, of which US$98.4m went towards the construction of Winstone Wallboards' upcoming Tauriko gypsum wallboard plant in the Bay of Plenty region. The plant's commissioning in 2023 will increase the company's production capacity by 30% and reduce its CO₂ emissions and waste generation.

Fletcher Building Materials chief executive officer Ross Taylor said "The 2022 financial year has not been without its challenges. Global and national supply chain disruptions have continued into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic. In New Zealand, surging plasterboard orders following the first quarter lockdown outstripped our ability to supply, despite our manufacturing facilities running at record levels. In recognition of our key role as a local manufacturer in keeping the market supplied, we carried out a range of measures to address the shortage including operating production lines 24/7, running down inventory, importing additional product, and establishing an emergency supply pool." Taylor added "The New Zealand Commerce Commission recently published its interim market study report into residential building supplies. The final report and recommendations will be published in December 2022 and in the meantime we will continue to work collaboratively with both the commission and the government."

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan’s total production of construction gypsum was 17,100t in the first eight months of 2021, up by 33% year-on-year from 12,900t in the corresponding period of 2020.

On-going large-scale state construction projects the new territories East of Zangazur and Karabakh are anticipated to increase full-year gypsum production in 2021 and into subsequent years.

US: The US Geological Survey (USGS) has reported a 13% year-on-year increase in national calcined gypsum production in the first half of 2021 to 9.57Mt from 8.5Mt in the first half of 2020. The country’s gypsum mines produced 10.1Mt of natural gypsum, down by 3.8% from 10.48Mt in 2021. Synthetic gypsum production remained in line with first-half 2020 levels at 7.2Mt. In total, the US exported 17,900t of natural and synthetic gypsum, up by 8.2% from 16,600t. It exported 49,000t of calcined gypsum, up by 10% from 44,500t.

In the second quarter of 2021, the US exported gypsum wallboard to 29 other countries. Volumes totalled 19Mm2, up by 40% year-on-year. Canada accounted for 95% of gypsum wallboard exports. The US imported 20.9Mm2 of gypsum wallboard during the quarter, up by 54% year-on-year. All imports came from Mexico and Canada, of which Mexico supplied 16.7Mm2 (85%).

Azerbaijan: Gypsum producers produced 20,300t of building gypsum in the first 11 months of 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from the same period in 2019. The total value of building products rose by 25% to US$389m, according to the Trend News Agency.

Azerbaijan: Gypsum producers achieved a total output of 13,000t of gypsum in the first eight months of 2020, up by 1.3% year-on-year from 12,800t over the corresponding period of 2019. Total building materials production fell by 1.8% in value to US$293m from US$298m.

Azerbaijan: Gypsum producers achieved volumes of 12,100t in the first half of 2020, up by 130% year-on-year from 5250t in the half of 2019. The total value of construction materials sales over the period fell by 4.8% to US$251m from US$264m.

Canada: Red Moon Resources says it has restarted production for the season at its Ace mine in western Newfoundland. Overall production at the site in 2020 is expected to be less than in 2019 due to disruption to both operations and markets caused by coronavirus. The situation is expected to stabalise in 2021. The company mined 0.16Mt of gypsum and anhydrite from the site in 2019.