Cement – Sector Update – Pricing under pressure amid muted demand
Published on 01 Jun 2026
We interacted with cement dealers across regions in India to assess demand and pricing trends in May’26. Our discussions indicate that demand remained subdued across most markets, impacted by extreme heatwaves, labour shortages due to Eid, wedding season and localized labour strikes, which weighed on construction activity and delayed project execution. Pricing remained under pressure during the month, with several markets witnessing either flat prices or rollbacks of earlier hikes due to weak demand conditions and higher competitive intensity. While select regions such as Chennai and Patna retained part of the earlier increases, South markets, particularly Hyderabad, saw meaningful corrections amid weak real estate activity and labour disruptions. Overall, dealers highlighted that demand improved marginally towards month-end in certain markets as labour availability gradually normalized and pre-monsoon activity picked up. Companies continue to discuss fresh price hikes for June, though sustainability will remain dependent on demand, labour availability and improvement in construction activity across regions due to delayed monsoon. We remain selectively positive on companies having pan-India presence, focus on volume growth and lucrative valuations. Top Picks: UTCEM, JKCE and JSWCEMEN.
