Weather disruptions in Turkey, logistical issues in Vietnam tighten US cement supply

Cement buyers in the US have been voicing growing concerns about supply reliability, as disruptions in Turkey and Vietnam risk tightening import availability in the coming weeks, market and trade sources said.

Smaller concerns have been reported by importers in colder US states, especially along the Northeast coast, where weather conditions typically make inland demand volatile at this time of year. With logistical issues also slowing arrivals at those ports, additional delays at exporting countries are not expected to translate into major market shifts, the importers said.

In other parts of the US -- especially Houston, where demand is described as strong amid favorable weather -- buyers have been heard expressing concerns about both Turkey and Vietnam for multiple reasons.

"Vietnam cannot get the cement into the ships, and the producers are canceling loading if you miss laycans by 6 hours to free up their docks. They overcommitted on the loading," a buyer told Platts Feb. 24, reporting delays of up to seven days from Vietnam.

One buyer in Houston reported problems with shipments departing Turkey due to weather conditions. The effects are expected to be felt by late March, when those cargoes are scheduled to arrive in Texas.

"The weather that has gone across the East Med has been really bad. I've had three ships that have been affected by it that are experiencing delays of some magnitude," the buyer said Feb. 24.

The same buyer said they have not experienced logistical issues with Vietnam, even as the country has faced delays after potentially "overbooking" during contract finalization for 2026.

"We've had trouble getting the laycans that we want. Largely because of overbooking," the buyer said. "That's scary."

Multiple trader and producer sources in Turkey agreed that the bad weather had led to massive delays.

"We couldn't load vessels -- around 200,000-300,000 mt of cement -- [because of the bad weather]. Hopefully, we will rectify the problem and find a solution to this soon," a large Turkish producer exporting to multiple countries, including the US, told Platts Feb. 25.

The weather was also impacting buyers in Europe, buyer sources said.

A buyer in Europe added that the bad weather had not just impacted supply but also led to lower consumption.

"In France, the cement market is very low, due to bad weather conditions," the source said. "[Consumption in] January and February should end 20%-30% lower than last year. I hope that the weather will improve soon."

In Asia, multiple exporters and traders based in Vietnam told Platts Feb. 26 that the delays appear to stem primarily from cargo preparation and volume readiness, rather than systemic infrastructure bottlenecks.

Several Asia-based traders and producers said some exporters may have taken on tighter loading schedules or higher sales commitments for early 2026 shipments, leading to scheduling pressure when cargoes were not fully ready within agreed laycan windows. In such cases, ships missing their loading windows risk being rescheduled.

"The issue is more about cargo readiness. It seems to me that some suppliers may have overcommitted on their volumes," one Vietnam-based trader said.

"I have heard cement plants in Vietnam are deferring the agreed laycans, if that is the case, they should not have agreed on the volumes in the first place," a South Asia-based buyer said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed cement prices at $52/mt CEMDEX Turkey, $83/mt CIF Houston and $38.50/mt FOB Vietnam on Feb. 26.