Cement & Concrete Product Manufacturing Industry Profile

The US cement, concrete, and construction material industry includes more than 5,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $40 billion. Major companies include Ash Grove Cement Company, Texas Industries, US Concrete, and Vulcan Materials, as well as the US operations of foreign companies such as Cemex (Mexico), CRH (Ireland), Holcim (Switzerland), FCC (Spain), and LaFarge (France). The industry includes about 150 cement manufacturing companies, 2,500 ready-mix concrete manufacturing companies, and about 2,700 companies that make concrete block, brick, pipe, and other concrete products.

The global cement manufacturing industry produces more than 3 billion tons of cement annually and is expected to produce nearly 4 billion tons by 2012, according to the International Cement Review. A rebound in worldwide construction demand since the late 2000s recession is expected to drive growth in this sector. Large global companies include Lafarge (France), Holcim (Switzerland), and Heidelberg Cement (Germany). China and India consume the majority of global cement output.

Some cement and concrete products companies also own sand and gravel quarrying operations, which are covered in the nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying industry profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is determined primarily by nonresidential and residential construction activity. 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 ...