Cement Capacity To Climb 16 Million Tons Through 2010

Portland Cement Association’s Economic Research Department projects that domestic clinker capacity will increase 17.3 percent by 2010, compared to 2005

Portland Cement Association‘s Economic Research Department projects that domestic clinker capacity will increase 17.3 percent by 2010, compared to 2005 levels. Cement companies are engaged in an aggressive $3.6 billion expansion that will increase clinker output by 16.2 million metric tons over the next five years. Based on announced and permitted plans, the capacity ramp up is a combination of greenfield sites Û anchored by the (below-noted) Holcim Ste. Genevieve Project Û and existing facility modernization or expansion.

The United States construction industry is ready to absorb this large capacity increase, affirms PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan. Regions with a vibrant economic base dominate the location of plant expansions and the related escalation in private, commercial, and public infrastructure construction will require additional materials. The Mountain region encompassing the rapidly growing populations of Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, he notes, accounts for 26 percent of total capacity expansions. With 37 percent of the planned increases, the U.S. Central region is expected to have the largest number of capacity expansions.