Reports state that Indian, French and German cement producers have also seen their stocks take a beating. Companies such as Heidelberg and Lararge are down 30 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

But the biggest industry shock may come from China, which contributed 54 per cent of all global cement production in 2010. Consider that the runner up in global production is India, with 7 per cent, followed by the USA, with 2 per cent of global production.

“China’s cement production has been on an increase for years. But it’s slowing down. The production for 2011 will come in at 1.88mm metric tonnes, an increase of only 6 per cent over 2010 (the slowest in 15 years),” say reports.

It’s unlikely things will look up in 2012, as a December 14, A Chinese article reported that “cement prices nationwide were down for the third consecutive week last week, dragged down by price declines in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces.”

The construction industry is highly correlated with economic growth. Understandably, the volatile year and slowdown in real estate has taken a toll on the demand for construction and construction materials.

As the future is still largely uncertain, the markets that are made up of the bulk of cement demand continue to waver. In some cases it has left producers burdened with excess supply, forcing them to slash prices.