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
Industry Forecast
Cement & Concrete Products Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 30, 2024 - Price Hikes Offset Rising Payroll Costs in 2023
- Employment by cement and concrete products manufacturers grew 3.4% in December compared to a year ago after rising 1.6% in the previous annual comparison, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average industry wages were $26.41 per hour in December, a 2.6% year-over-year rise but down $0.75 (2.8%) from their peak in August, per BLS wage data. Steeply rising producer prices for makers of cement and concrete products – up 7% in December compared to a year ago – are helping to offset rising payroll costs for the industry.
- 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.
- Architectural billings – a leading indicator of construction activity – predict a solid year for the construction market in 2024, albeit a slower rate of growth than in 2023. According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), overall gains in construction spending are projected at just under 6%, with almost 3% for the commercial sector, 15% for industrial facilities, and 4% for institutional buildings. Commercial construction will continue to benefit from the billions of dollars in infrastructure investment from the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act that are still working their way into the economy. While final numbers for 2023 aren’t in yet, total construction spending in 2023 is forecast at $1,960 billion, an increase of 6.0% over 2022 with nonresidential spending leading that growth, Contractor Magazine reports. Demand for cement and concrete products is driven by construction activity.
- 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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