Cement, Concrete and Construction Material

The US cement, concrete, and construction material industry has annual revenue of about $50 billion. Major companies include Martin Marietta Materials and Vulcan Materials, as well as the US operations of foreign companies such as CRH (Ireland), LaFarge (France), Holcim (Switzerland), Cemex (Mexico), and FCC (Spain). Foreign companies own a majority of US cement capacity. The industry includes about 110 cement manufacturers, nearly 2,000 local sand and gravel quarrying companies, and more than 2,500 ready-mix concrete operators. About 800 companies make concrete pipes, bricks, and blocks; 500 produce asphalt, and 200 make gypsum products.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is determined by construction rates for public infrastructure, as well as for housing and nonresidential buildings. The profitability of individual companies is strongly dependent on efficient operations, as products are commodities and companies compete chiefly on price. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in purchasing and the ability to invest in technologies that improve efficiency. Small manufacturers can compete through superior customer service and by serving small or rural markets.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Cement and other mineral construction materials are used mainly to construct buildings, roads, bridges, sewers, and other types of infrastructure. Because of the limited processing required to produce these materials, most companies that mine the raw material also make and distribute the finished product. Raw materials, like sand, gravel, shale, gypsum, and limestone, are quarried from open pits or mined in capital-intensive operations using drills, explosives, and ...