China's Jan.-Feb. Building Materials Industrial Added Value Up 12.1%

BEIJING, Apr. 7 -- China's building materials industry posted a year on year rise of 12.1 percent in added value during the first two months of 2009, 8.3 percentage points faster than that for all industries, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

    The building materials industrial added value grew 14 percent if calculated by comparable days, two percentage points higher that last December.

    Pulled by robust fixed-asset investment, the output of cement reached 159 million tons in January-February, up 10.3 percent on year, or 6.8 percent from last December. The output of flat glass dropped seven percent year on year to 83.21 million weight boxes, with a decrease of 8.4 percentage points from last December. Cement prices dropped somewhat, statistics showed, but that for flat glass quickly shattered.

    In February, the average ex-factory price of cement stood at 284 yuan per ton, five yuan less than the peak level of last November, but 27.8 yuan more than 2008's same period. The ex-factory price of flat glass was quoted at 59.6 yuan per weight box, down 1.7 yuan from January and 11.7 yuan less than the same month of the prior year.

    The building materials industry has unveiled signs of recovery driven by the stimulus package, but overproduction still poses a threat.

    (Source: chinamining.org)