Cement & Concrete Products Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 3,900 cement and concrete manufacturers in the US produce cement, concrete, and concrete products for the construction industry. Major product categories include ready-mixed concrete; concrete pipe, brick and block; other types of concrete products (structural products, bridge girders); and cement. Large companies may be vertically integrated and own or lease quarries that contain raw materials (limestone, aggregates). Some large cement manufacturers have downstream concrete production operations.
Seasonal Demand
Demand for cement, concrete, and concrete products is seasonal, and drops during the winter months due to unfavorable weather conditions across much of the US.
Capital-Intensive Operations
Cement manufacturing is capital-intensive and requires a significant investment in plants and equipment.
Industry size & Structure
The average cement manufacturer employs 91 workers and generates about $102 million annually, while the average concrete or concrete product manufacturer employs 44 workers and generates $18.9 million annually.
- The cement and concrete manufacturing industry consists of about 3,900 companies, employs about 205,600 workers, and generates about $69.5 billion annually.
- Ready-mixed concrete manufacturers account for about 54% of industry sales; cement manufacturing accounts for about 14%: concrete pipe, brick and block manufacturing are about 10%; and other concrete product manufacturing is about 22%.
- About 90 US companies manufacture cement. The cement manufacturing industry is highly concentrated; the top 20 companies account for 91% of sector sales. The concrete product manufacturing industry is less concentrated; the top 50 companies account for 70% of industry sales. The ready-mix concrete industry is least concentrated, with the top 50 companies accounting for 47% of industry sales.
- Large companies include CEMEX, Holcim Group (formerly LafargeHolcim), Heidelberg Materials (formerly Heidelberg Cement), and Martin Marietta Materials. Many large cement manufacturers are owned by foreign companies. About 89% of US cement capacity was foreign-owned in 2018.
- Many concrete and concrete product manufacturers operate within a limited geographical area due to transport issues and costs.
- Concrete-consuming jobs include commercial and industrial, residential, street and highway, and public works and infrastructure projects.
- Texas, Florida, and California are the top three cement-consuming states. Texas, Missouri, California, and Florida are the top cement-producing states, accounting for approximately 43% of US production.
Industry Forecast
Cement & Concrete Products Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
May 30, 2024 - Record High Producer Prices
- Producer prices for cement and concrete products manufacturers hit a new high in March, rising 6.2% compared to a year ago after climbing 14.5% in the previous annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Prices have been rising steeply and steadily since early 2021 amid a concrete shortage in the US and abroad caused by a dearth of cement mix, the primary ingredient in concrete. Employment by cement and concrete products manufacturers grew 1.4% in March year over year, while average industry wages rose 2.4% over the same period to $26.09 per hour, BLS data show.
- The US cement market got off to a difficult start this year, CemNet reported in April, citing US Geological Survey data. Total shipments of Portland and blended cement, including imports, in the US and Puerto Rico amounted to approximately 5.9 million tons (Mt) in January, down 14.3% year over year from the 6.9 Mt recorded in January 2023, per USGS. The key destination for Portland cement shipments was California, up nearly 24% year over year, followed by Texas and Florida. After contracting 2.8% year over year in 2023, forecasts predict a modest expansion in cement consumption in 2024, driven largely by infrastructure construction, according to CemNet. Of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act package, roughly $550 billion is earmarked directly for new projects, and the US Portland Cement Association estimates the deal will add 46Mt to cement consumption over its five-year time span.
- Some of the world’s richest men are among a new wave of investors and entrepreneurs looking to make concrete greener, The Wall Street Journal reports. The second-most-used material in the world (after water), concrete accounts for more than 7-8% of global carbon emissions, with most of those emissions caused by cement. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates and backed by Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, China’s Jack Ma, and others, are investing in startups developing new technologies to produce cement while producing less CO2. Brimstone is developing a way to make cement from rocks that contain no carbon, while other startups are selling substitutes for cement so that concrete mixers need less of it, WSJ reports. Still others are developing processes and materials that trap CO2. Concrete’s low cost and ubiquity as a building material leave no choice but to find cheap ways to cut emissions, per WSJ.
- The US cement industry must accelerate decarbonization progress dramatically to keep pace with sector-wide net-zero goals, according to a new report from the Department of Energy. The report – Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Low-Carbon Cement – asserts that scaling green cement will be critical for the US to achieve net zero overall and will position the nation to lead global efforts to decarbonize the sector, including through the deployment of US-developed technologies. While many potential decarbonization approaches are emerging, nearly all are in the pilot stage and face challenging paths to scale, per the report. Combined investment across these approaches would need to reach about $5–20 billion cumulatively by 2030 and some $60–120B cumulatively by 2050 to achieve commercial liftoff of key technologies and then full decarbonization of the cement industry. Cement represents about 7–8% of global CO2 emissions and some 1–2% of US CO2 emissions, per the DOE.
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