Sources: Slag Cement Association, Farmington Hills, Mich.,
Slag cement shipments in the U.S. climbed 11.7 percent in 2020 versus prior-year volume, sustaining a streak of year-over-year, double-digit percentage growth dating to 2016. The Slag Cement Association attributes the trend in part to the binder’s benefits in plastic and cured concrete, including better workability and finishability; thermal stress reduction; higher compressive and flexural strengths; and, resistance to aggressive chemical exposure. Additional traction is linked to environmental factors: Slag cement is a recovered material from the iron production process; consequently, it reduces concrete mixtures’ environmental impact by decreasing carbon footprint, embodied energy, and the use of non-renewable materials.
“The continual rise in shipment totals serves as a testament of slag cement being used in broad applications to produce quality concrete,” says SCA President Ed Griffith (VCNA/St. Marys). “The SCA is the leading source of knowledge for slag cement, providing resources of the inherent benefits that slag cement provides to the industry.”
In addition to Toronto-based St. Marys and Votorantim Cimentos, SCA represents Ash Grove Cement, Cemex USA, LafargeHolcim, Lehigh Hanson, Ozinga Bros. and Skyway Cement.
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