US cement imports from Vietnam hit a record in the first half of 2026
· 1 min read
The short answer
US cement imports from Vietnam rose 20 percent year on year to a record 3.08 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, according to Global Trade Tracker data reported by Argus. Vietnam is now the second-largest cement supplier to the US, with nearly 26 percent of all US cement imports, up from 21 percent a year earlier.
What the numbers show
- 3.08 million tonnes of cement imported from Vietnam in January to June 2026, up 20 percent on the year and a record for a first half.
- Nearly 26 percent of all US cement imports came from Vietnam in the period, up from 21 percent in the first half of 2025.
- Turkey remained the largest supplier at 3.73 million tonnes, down 6 percent, with its share narrowing to 31 percent.
- Canada was third at 1.89 million tonnes, about 16 percent of imports, before a new 50 percent US tariff on Canadian cement took effect on 22 August 2026.
- Total US cement imports were about 11.88 million tonnes, down around 1 percent on the year.
Why it matters for American buyers
Vietnam is now the clear number two source of imported cement in the US, and the gap with Turkey is narrowing. The same report notes that many Vietnamese suppliers were already sold out of spot cargoes for much of 2026 by February, which suggests most of the growth came from contracts agreed the year before. For a buyer, the practical lesson is that Vietnamese supply is real and growing, but it is allocated early. Waiting for the spot market is the expensive way to buy it.
Freight is the other variable. Argus reports that bunker costs, and with them ocean freight, rose for most of 2026. That is one more reason we put the freight and the duty in the number where freight is available, rather than an FOB price that leaves the largest moving parts to the buyer.