Editorial – Concrete Products

FHWA, EPA draw a line in the sand for Low Carbon Transportation Materials

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025 Don Marsh

Federal agencies have spent more than two years reviewing carbon dioxide emissions associated with load-bearing construction material processing or production. Officials recognize regional or local factors affecting the CO2 emissions profile of concrete, asphalt and steel, and have positioned 2025 as a turning point for procurement terms applicable to federally funded transportation and building work. The Federal Highway Administration took…

Summit Materials deal perpetuates Quikrete and CRH/Oldcastle rivalry

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024 Don Marsh

This year began with a shareholder vote realigning the portfolio and ownership of Denver-based Summit Materials Inc. around Argos North America Corp. cement and ready mixed production assets and top shareholder Cementos Argos S.A. It closes with prospects for a similar action transforming New York Stock Exchange-traded Summit Materials to a subsidiary of privately held Quikrete Holdings Inc., Atlanta. The…

The Future of the RMC Driver: Capitalizing on the Industry’s Greatest Resource

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 Jack Delperdang

Not long ago I was asked by a person outside of the ready mixed concrete business about our greatest strength and asset as an industry. Without hesitation, I immediately told them it was our drivers. Drivers make up a total of approximately two-thirds of all the employees for a ready mixed producer. They deliver concrete to the point of where…

An enthusiastic White House nod to concrete and cement brands

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 Don Marsh

Familiar names dominate a new White House report on Federal Buy Clean Initiative and Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Demonstration Program progress. The administration salutes six concrete or cement producers, CO2-mineralizing process developer CarbonCure Technologies, and four cementitious material startup companies for corporate or project-specific commitments outlined in response to Buy Clean and Industrial Demonstrations calls to action. Commitments referencing…

Low-carbon materials at what price?

October 11, 2024October 11, 2024 Don Marsh

A new report from The Climate Group, based in London with a New York office, looks beyond carbon dioxide emissions reduction cost factors in concrete and steel to price premiums the market might bear when presented conventional versus low-carbon material options. “The Steel and Concrete Transformation: 2024 market outlook on lower emission steel and concrete” was released late last month…

Energy Department powers promotion of low carbon construction materials

September 16, 2024September 16, 2024 Concrete News

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) authors’ recognition of technology transfer hurdles and risk-averse specification tendencies in construction is evident in a slew of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office and National Laboratories initiatives supporting low carbon materials awareness and procurement. The DOE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) is eyeing a National Laboratory-led Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence to accelerate…

Justices draw regulator red line

August 20, 2024August 20, 2024 Concrete News

The Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision should relieve concrete, construction and trucking interests of some uncertainties arising from federal agency rules or shield them when challenging such measures in federal courts. Loper plaintiffs questioned a Department of Commerce rule that hinged on authority indicated in Chevron U.S.A Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Counsel. That 1984 high court…

Federal judge affirms truck drivers’ absence from Davis-Bacon lanes

July 9, 2024July 9, 2024 Don Marsh

White House and Department of Labor (DOL) staff attempts to lower contractor margins and raise public-construction costs hit a roadblock late last month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division. Associated General Contractors of America-led plaintiffs prevailed in a challenge to three provisions in the DOL’s “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations” final rule,…

Concrete producers lead the way in federal agency’s Buy Clean agenda

June 18, 2024June 18, 2024 Don Marsh

The White House and General Services Administration have marked the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-funded low embodied carbon (LEC) construction materials procurement program pilot, noting “a dramatic increase of thousands more environmental product declarations used to identify sustainably-manufactured construction materials over the past year. EPDs are a key tool for gaining visibility into a product’s environmental impacts…

Work ethic takes center stage

May 8, 2024May 8, 2024 Don Marsh

We reflect this month on 2024 National Ready Mixed Concrete Association convention notables: Committee awards and Chairman Nathan McKean’s enthusiastic industry view. Here, we extend the Florida gathering’s salutes to NRMCA Executive Vice President, Operations and Compliance Gary Mullings, who has retired from day-to-day duty after 50-plus years with the organization. Luckily, he continues as a consultant, primarily assisting the…