Cement Price Goes Up

[turbosingh]

Cement prices go up
By Kim Boodram
Story Created: Dec 30, 2011 at 10:51 PM ECT
Story Updated: Dec 30, 2011 at 10:51 PM ECT
AN increase in the price of cement by Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) from tomorrow can be considered "negligible", president of the Trinidad and Tobago Contractors' Association Mervyn Chin has said.
TCL in a statement yesterday announced "marginal" adjustments of eight and seven per cent in the prices of its Premium Plus cement in Trinidad and Tobago respectively, as well as a 12 per cent increase in the price of its Portland brand.
This takes the retail price of Premium from around $48 per bag to about $52, while the Portland brand, which also retails for $48, will now be sold for closer to $54 a bag.
Chin said the TTCA was notified in November of the impending changes, which go into effect on January 1.
"I wouldn't say it's any big thing," Chin said in a telephone interview yesterday.
"These changes will translate, roughly, let's say in a two-bedroom house that costs around $400,000, to an additional $1,500."
Chin said increases, however negligible, will be inherited by the customer and that these changes are usually felt by people in lower income brackets.
"But I don't think that John Public will take it too hard," he added.
TCL general manager Satnarine Bachew said yesterday the new prices will be the company's first increase in four years.
The last increase of 6.5 per cent was made in 2008 and in 2009, the company reduced prices by five per cent.
Bachew said the company is now faced with escalating operation costs, including that of labour, the increasing price of electricity and natural gas, and costs directly related to the depreciation of foreign exchange.
The company can no longer absorb these costs, Bachew said.

[moti]

guyana green heart for it yes.

[VexXx Dogg]

wogaaad.
the scales are never tipped on the poor people's side nah...
Mortgage rates go down, cement goes up.

[Ignorant Ignis]

guyana green heart for it yes.

that more expensive than cement right now

[sharkman121]

fackkk...

[Greypatch]

alluh did NOT want to support harricrete when the man brought in cement from ASIA and with COMPETITION FORCED TCL a NATIONAL company to reduce their prices.

And in the process ease the rape of the citizens of T&T.

so in the words of Kartel "tek fack"

[shake d livin wake d dead]

interesting..

[toyota2nr]

Where is the Minister of Trade?

Over and over TCL has been taking advantage of the citizens of T&T. We need to break their monopoly.
The head of the TTCA is saying that it will only be a $1500.00 increase but realtors are going to raise their prices by at least $15000.00

This is T&T........

[rfari]

CMA importing cemex for 34 + VAT. not so? TCL could keep dey stock

[nismoid]

alluh did NOT want to support harricrete when the man brought in cement from ASIA and with COMPETITION FORCED TCL a NATIONAL company to reduce their prices.

And in the process ease the rape of the citizens of T&T.

so in the words of Kartel "tek fack"

X1000 good memory bro

[Dizzy28]

alluh did NOT want to support harricrete when the man brought in cement from ASIA and with COMPETITION FORCED TCL a NATIONAL company to reduce their prices.

And in the process ease the rape of the citizens of T&T.

so in the words of Kartel "tek fack"

But wasn't this stopped because the cement was being dumped (when manufacturers export a product to another country at a price either below the price charged in its home market, or in quantities that cannot be explained through normal market competition) rather than locals not supporting Harricrete.

[Greypatch]

pressure was put on the govt from TCL.


In the end it was ruled that the product was being "dumped" in T&T.

b4 TCL set up their mill in guyana cement was cheaper to buy in guyana than in T&T
not sure about know but i suspect it is still cheaper to buy in GT than in T&T

what about Carib Brewery ...

a carib costs less in Guyana than in T&T..

[Greypatch]

CMA importing cemex for 34 + VAT. not so? TCL could keep dey stock

tell me more

[turbosingh]

CMA importing cemex for 34 + VAT. not so? TCL could keep dey stock

Who is CMA

[toyota2nr]

Need.......more.......info

[TRAE]

i sure if we boycott them they go either market themselves as a better product and raise prices to signify such or drop back down the prices to a competitive market

[Greypatch]

This may help

Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) reported a Loss per Share (LPS) of $0.09 for the Q1 ended March 31, 2011. This represents the third consecutive quarterly loss for the Group. In the equivalent period last year, the Group recorded earnings per share of $0.13.

TCL's revenue during the first three months of 2011 contracted 11.0 per cent compared to last year moving from $425.5M to $378.6M as revenue from most of its segments experienced declines. Revenue from TCL's cement segment was down 9.2 per cent year-on-year to $345.9M. In the Concrete segment, revenue declined to $29.1M, while revenue from its packaging segment moved to $3.6M. Its subsidiaries, Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) and Readymix Limited (RML) also experienced falling revenues.

The Group reported an Operating Loss of $5.3M for the Q1 versus an Operating Profit of $65.0M in the Q1 of 2010.

[Country_Bookie]

Any ah allyuh ever own a business?
Allyuh have any idea how hard it is to maintain the same price for the one product you manufacture over a number of years when all the other overhead costs increasing? TCL is in a bad position right now; they can't pay their debts, they making losses and the union as usual wants more money than the company can afford to pay. What allyuh expect them to do? Maintain the same price until they go out of business?

[eliteauto]

This Min of Trade seems to be intent on sheltering certain manufacturers and not giving a fack about the consumer. Currently frozen chicken importers are being squeezed and denied import licenses until the Gov't gets permission from Caricom to increase the tariff by more than 100%. because the Big3 (Nutamix, Arawak and Fine Choice) are claiming losses due to consumers buying imported chicken which is cheaper, they are even claiming the chicken is rejects from the US because it's leg and thigh quarters, wings etc which they say is less favored in the US than breast.

[Greypatch]

Any ah allyuh ever own a business?
Allyuh have any idea how hard it is to maintain the same price for the one product you manufacture over a number of years when all the other overhead costs increasing? TCL is in a bad position right now; they can't pay their debts, they making losses and the union as usual wants more money than the company can afford to pay. What allyuh expect them to do? Maintain the same price until they go out of business?

if you find yourself in a bad position and you are the sole provider, you do NOT deserve to be in business

[lancer3]

"These changes will translate, roughly, let's say in a two-bedroom house that costs around $400,000, to an additional $1,500."

Yea rite, concrete blocks going to go up too, along with all concrete related products eg concrete pillars, balusters, moldings, premix.............fack

[streetbeastINC.]

how else will all the execs afford bmw,benz range rovers,Porsche etc etc etc one for wifey one for son daughter cousin brother ---thats what u gotta pay for..... off to buy 80 bags firetruck..

[Greypatch]

feeble management by the ones in charge of the sole supplier...

who pays the small man...


same could be said for the CARTEL of chicken men.

CARICOM should REJECT the duty increase..

govt should give them a 3 year period to get their house in order and the open the market

[Country_Bookie]

Any ah allyuh ever own a business?
Allyuh have any idea how hard it is to maintain the same price for the one product you manufacture over a number of years when all the other overhead costs increasing? TCL is in a bad position right now; they can't pay their debts, they making losses and the union as usual wants more money than the company can afford to pay. What allyuh expect them to do? Maintain the same price until they go out of business?

if you find yourself in a bad position and you are the sole provider, you do NOT deserve to be in business

Ok well shut dem dong then, what's a few thousand workers on the breadline? We go just import everything from the likes of Cemex. Surely nothing can go wrong there...

[Greypatch]

how about removing the ones who are in charge ?

[Dizzy28]

how about removing the ones who are in charge ?

^This. In a private company when share prices fall the CEO should be quaking.

[ray d saint]

TCL Share price as at close of trading today is $1.80 u really think that a 12% increase will help the bottom line of a company that has not paid a dividend to shares holders since Jun 08'...

lollz...

[Country_Bookie]

Patch,
I most certainly agree with that. The Management of TCL is both corrupt and incompetent.

[cornfused]

Overheads going up , profits down and you are a monopoly , get rid of some managerial fat , of course in a gov't protected monopoly you can just raise the price. That's the easy way out . Small business have not union to deal with and can change labor when they get bright. While the increase seems marginal all concrete products would be affected , bricks , pour , piles , pre fab , some tiles and vent systems . The estimate given was for a 2 bedroom house , who builds a two bedroom house? not even public housing.

No one batted an eye for Harricrete , we still use their products, yes it may have been dumping but if we can land and sell cemex here much cheaper than TCL, what gives?

Think why Cemex wanted to purchase TCL a few years ago . Its not hard to make that company profitable but ........

[Damien]

Pay eeet man hadda eatahfood