Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. Testifying in Washington, D.C., this week before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Dan Harrington, president and CEO of Lehigh Hanson, Inc., and former PCA chair, stressed to Congress that inaction on onerous EPA regulations will result in the direct loss of 4,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs and have an adverse impact on…
Read MoreYear: 2011
Lafarge, Tarmac merger referred to Competition Commission
Source: Builders Merchants Journal, United Kingdom The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred a proposed UK construction materials joint venture between Tarmac UK parent company Anglo American and Lafarge to the Competition Commission. The parties propose to establish a 50-50 joint venture to which each of them would contribute the bulk of their construction materials businesses in the United…
Read MoreCSA, codes enable Lafarge Canada to up limestone content in cement
Sources: Lafarge North America, Reston, Va.; Staff reports In response to ever-increasing market demand for sustainable building solutions, Lafarge has recently introduced a new portland-limestone cement (PLC) commercial offering in Canada. Widely used in Europe for over 25 years, PLC is a new category of cement that provides performance similar to conventional portland cement with up to 10 percent less…
Read MoreCemex enhances operations with new business process model
Source: Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico Cemex announced recently the successful execution of its integration to SAP-centric enterprise platform for its operations across all business lines in Mexico, Spain and Costa Rica. This platform is already implemented in other operations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, among others. Cement, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates operations are…
Read MoreCement Totals—June 2011
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico were about 7.3 million mt in June 2011, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This was 2.8 percent lower compared with shipments for June 2010. Total shipments for the year through June were approximately 32.1 million mt, slightly lower than…
Read MoreCemex nears $378 million Ready Mix USA buyout
Sources: Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; Staff reports Pursuant to the exercise of a put option by Ready Mix USA, Cemex will assume full ownership in the two Cemex USA–Ready Mix USA joint ventures. Created in 2005, they span ready mixed, concrete block, cement and aggregate production and distribution operations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and five other Southeast states.
Read MoreMIT buildings, pavements research position concrete for post-LEED accounting
Sources: CP staff; Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; RMC Research & Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md. Two studies from the Concrete Sustainability Hub at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology represent major advancements for construction-related life-cycle assessments (LCA), as they quantify cradle-to-grave cost and environmental impacts for buildings and pavements. Released August 11 as part of the Concrete Sustainability Hub’s 2011…
Read MoreCemex in Dominican Republic begins first major turnkey project in Santo Domingo
Source: Cemex, S.A. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico Cemex has recently began its first turnkey project in the Dominican Republic with its participation in the construction of one of capital city Santo Domingo’s biggest projects and the surrounding market. Mercatodo Santo Domingo is a new distribution center for agricultural and refrigerated products. It will require 12,500 cu. meters of ready mix…
Read MoreARRA spending continues to decline
Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. According to a recent PCA report, 77.3 percent of total American Recovery and Reinvestment Act highway funds have been dispersed through July, compared to 75.6 percent in June. July highway stimulus spending was $452 million, a 31 percent decrease from June’s spending rate. Against year-ago levels, July’s spending volumes declined 64 percent. Spending has…
Read MoreState economic recovery to vary depending on deficits, market strength
Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. The national economy is expected to recover during 2011-2012, generating 2.5 million jobs in 2011 and 2.7 million in 2012. However, due to the over-supply characteristics in residential and commercial markets, coupled with persistent state deficits, construction activity may encounter a more prolonged recovery. According to a recent PCA report, relatively flat conditions will…
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