LafargeHolcim rebrands alternative binders, nudges A/E/C pros on carbon

Responding to demand for construction materials performance and sustainability, market leader LafargeHolcim has rebranded its U.S. blended cement and supplementary cementitious materials portfolio as Envirocore Series—led by OneCem Portland Limestone, MaxCem Blended and NewCem Slag Cements. Concurrently, it calls on architectural, engineering and construction (A/E/C) interests, along with their concrete suppliers, to adopt more sustainable products.

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Two economic recovery models inform new PCA market outlook

Portland Cement Association Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Ed Sullivan offers two U.S. cement consumption scenarios around “U” or “W” shaped economic recovery curves, with respective 2020 and 2021 figures of -3.4 percent or +1.7 percent and -4.8 percent and -2.7 percent—both years measured against 2019 industry shipments.

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Associated Builders & Contractors states case for four more years of Trump

Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C., outlines member-friendly, 2017-2020 advocacy and policy measures in its endorsement of President Donald Trump for election to a second term. Members applaud his administration’s substantial deregulatory efforts, especially after eight years of uncertainty spurred by the predecessor administration’s aggressive, burdensome and litigation-prone rulemaking.

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The red-hot housing market is leading the economic recovery

by Pierre G. Villere As I approach five decades of practicing in the investment banking world, one truism that has been consistent is that housing always leads us out of recessions. As a matter of fact, the housing industry serves as a source of strength during an economic recovery, as has been the case in nearly every recession over the…

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Market forces best regulators for aligning cement and concrete with Paris Accord

Associated Builders & Contractors officials emphasize regulatory reform in their endorsement of President Trump for a second term. Nowhere is their praise more warranted—and substance of their observations better validated—than in his June 2017 withdrawal from the Paris Accord. Recall how that faux treaty, finalized in December 2015 under the United Nations Conference of Parties, held signatories to voluntary greenhouse…

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