Cement & Concrete Products Manufacturers NAICS 3273

Jul 30, 2025 - Data Centers Driving Demand for Cement

• A new report from the American Cement Association (ACA) predicts the US will need approximately 1-million metric tons of cement to construct data centers to house Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology by 2028. Data centers typically require high volumes of concrete due to their unique design considerations. The ACA report found that over the past decade, inflation-adjusted spending on data centers has grown nearly 850%, with a 55% jump in 2024 alone. By 2027, forecasters expect the number of data centers in the US to climb to 6,000, up from 5,426 at present. Annual spending on data centers is now around $27.4 billion dollars. While virtually every state will benefit from data center construction over the next three years, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, and Ohio lead the nation in anticipated data center projects.
• US cement production declined last year, according to the US Geological Survey. In 2024, US Portland and blended cement production fell 4% to an estimated 86 million tons, and masonry cement production also fell 4% to an estimated 2.2 million tons. Cement was produced at 99 plants in 34 States and Puerto Rico. Texas, Missouri, California, and Florida were the leading cement-producing states, accounting for approximately 43% of domestic production. Overall, the US cement industry’s growth continued to be constrained by closed or idle plants, underutilized capacity, production disruptions from plant upgrades, and relatively inexpensive imports, per the USGA. In 2024, shipments of cement were an estimated 110 million tons with an estimated value of $17 billion. An estimated 70-75% of sales were to ready-mixed concrete producers, 12% to concrete product manufacturers, 8% to 10% to contractors, and 5% to 10% to other customers.

• The highly-concentrated US concrete industry consolidated even further in 2025 with the acquisition of Summit Materials by packaged-concrete manufacturer Quikrete in February. The $11.5 billion deal (including debt) merged the aggregates, cement, and ready-mix concrete businesses of Summit with Quikrete's concrete and cement-based products business to create a “behemoth producer of construction materials in North America.” Summit Material’s largest shareholder, Colombian concrete-maker Cementos Argos, supported the deal with Quikrete, the companies said. M&A activity in the sector is picking up, driven by increasing demand for building materials and government spending on infrastructure projects.
• Producer prices for cement and concrete products manufacturers rose 2.9% in June compared to a year ago, after rising 5.5% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Rising raw material and energy costs are contributing to the rise in producer prices. Employment by the industry grew 2.8% year over year in May, while the average industry wage at cement and concrete products manufacturers rose 4.8% over the same period to $$28.09 per hour, BLS data show. Employment by the industry is seasonal, typically falling in winter and peaking in the warm summer months along with construction activity.