India experienced a dramatic reversal of fortunes in bitumen demand in August, reflecting a renewed push in the infrastructure economy of the country, WPB reports. Following months of weakening from April to July, demand for this critical road-construction material rebounded by 47% with the easing of the monsoon's intensity and the return to construction activities in most states. This recovery was deciphered by analysts as a welcome sign of infrastructural progress and the resilience of the economy in driving its growth agenda despite seasonal reverses.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas highlighted that India's use of bitumen rose to 0.42 million metric tonnes (MMT) in August, compared to 0.29 MMT last year during the same month. Imports too were a record 49% higher. Nearly one-third of India's whole bitumen needs were met with imports from abroad, highlighting the nation's reliance on foreign supplies to prop up its mega infrastructure plans.
The ministry had previously attributed the June slowdown as primarily due to slack progress of road construction in leading states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh where heavy rains heavily impaired work on projects. Historically, the July-September quarter has been a seasonally weak quarter for bitumen use as consistent rains impede construction operations. However, demand tends to recover once the weather settles, peaking in March when contractors escalate activities to meet year-end budgets.
The gradual pick-up could be seen as early as July, when consumption increased by 12.2%, setting the stage for the steep pick-up in August. That said, even with this improvement, the April-July period continued to print a net contraction of 2.3%, showing the elephantiasis of season-related issues. Industry insiders pointed out that such volatility is not rare in India's infrastructure landscape, where weather conditions have a large bearing on the speed of construction work.
To place these trends in perspective, July–September 2024 combined consumption of bitumen was approximately 1.1 MMT, a number that was comparable to March 2025. It was slightly higher than 1 MMT during the same quarter in 2022. The July–September quarter 2023, on the other hand, recorded a record consumption of approximately 1.5 MMT, much of it a result of incurred road-construction activities that had been kick-started before the April–May 2024 general election. That growth contributed to overall consumption for 2023–24 to be at a ten-year peak, demonstrating the scale of activity in the infrastructure sector.
Bitumen is still virtually entirely associated with road construction and accounts for around 3.5% of the total use of refined petroleum products across Australia. The steep spike in August consumption thus not only indicated a rebound from seasonal troughs but also confirmed the central position of road-construction in India's total economic and development strategy. The trend showed that though the monsoon pull-back further enhanced the conditions, the nation was once again putting major emphasis on developing its road infrastructure, which is still the backbone of connectivity, commerce, and growth in India's rapidly evolving economy.
By Bitumenmag
Bitumen, Road, Pavement
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