According to a recent report brought out by Ficci, cement now rides the upswing in the commodity cycle and has set off a rally on the bourses in major cement stocks. Market capitalisation has gone up by nearly 85 per cent since December 1996.

The upswing is also reflected in the firming up of the cement prices in western, southern and northern parts of the country. However, the price rise has still lagged behind the WPI increase and may not have compensated the manufacturers fully for the increase in input prices.