New Orleans will host the 15th annual Intercem Americas – the world’s leading cement industry conference – Dec. 2-4, 2013, at the InterContinental Hotel. Intercem will provide the latest forecasts, markets news and trading patterns, as well as insight and analysis on shipping and environmental regulations for the U.S. cement industry and the wider Americas region.
PCA Chairman Cary Cohrs and PCA Vice President and Chief Economist Ed Sullivan will provide an analysis of the North American markets. Recently, the PCA forecasted a 4 percent growth in 2013 followed by 9.7 percent in both 2014 and 2015 and 11 percent in 2016. The prospect of near double-digit growth for the next three years is amongst the best in the world. Should the market grow at the predicted rate, the United States could see a 34-35 percent growth by 2017, behind only Nigeria, Indonesia and India, according to forecasts from Exane BNP Paribas.
Growth is expected to continue apace with demand that is projected to rise across Latin America and South America, with an increase between 23 percent and 26 percent, anticipated over the next five years.
Though the forecasts bode very well for construction and cement demand, other challenges arise, for example in the form of new environmental regulations and growing fuel costs, particularly in the United States and Canada.
Looking in depth at cement throughout two continents, over two days, and with participants expected from more than 40 countries, Intercem Americas will once again be “where the international cement industry meets.” — www.intercem.com