Construction-materials economist Ed Sullivan is taking aim at retail construction, noting that it does not get much attention, but it is critical to a recovery in private, nonresidential cement and concrete consumption.
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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) allocates $46.5 billion to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for “physical barriers” along the Mexican border. This includes the construction of 701 miles of primary wall, 900 miles of river barriers, and 629 miles of secondary barriers, along with the replacement of 141 miles of existing vehicle and pedestrian barriers.
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U.S. cement consumption is expected to decline by 1.6% this year, but a recession prompted by ongoing trade wars is not expected in 2025. The predictions were included in the American Cement Association’s (ACA) Market Intelligence team’s Spring Forecast, released last week at the 67th IEEE-IAS/ACA Cement Conference in Birmingham, Ala.
Read MoreEd Sullivan, who formerly served as The Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) chief economist and senior vice president of market intelligence, said he will continue to publish his popular economic insights on Substack under “The Sullivan Report.“ “I plan to continue to assess the U.S. economy and how that relates to the construction and cement industries,” Sullivan told Cement Optimized. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the…
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Following the Federal Reserve’s recent signaling of a single 2024 interest rate cut, Portland Cement Association (PCA) Chief Economist Ed Sullivan sees a return this year of two forces – one exposed to, the other mostly shielded from borrowing costs – that shaped 2023 private and public construction activity.
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By Mauro Nogarin Cement production in most Latin American countries has stagnated for two main reasons: inflation, which in some cases, such as in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, caused prices to rise. On the other hand, lower investment by governments in large public works also generated a reduction in cement consumption. BrazilThe instability of the Brazilian economy, marked by a…
Read MorePlant With New Technology Boasts Energy, Environmental Efficiency. By Mauro Nogarin The cement company Cielo Azul began production at its new cement plant in Treinta y Tres, Uruguay, a project that employed more than 1,000 people. The investment made to date exceeds $140 million, 35% for equipment and 65% for services and labor. According to projections made by Cielo Azul,…
Read MoreShipments of portland and blended cement increased by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with that in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Annual consumption increased by 4% in 2021, compared with that of 2020. They obtained this information via its monthly survey of U.S. cement producers. But Portland Cement Association (PCA) Chief…
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By Mauro Nogarin According to the new financial report published by the Central Bank, the Argentine economy this year will register an increase of 4% if the country closes the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to refinance its $45 billion dollar debt. Regarding inflation, one of the main macroeconomic problems that is more difficult to solve, for this…
Read MoreDuring last month’s World of Concrete, held Jan. 18-20 in Las Vegas, Portland Cement Association Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Ed Sullivan previewed his annual economic forecast, with specific focus on the cement industry and the increasing demand for construction materials accelerated by the recently passed infrastructure bill. In particular, Sullivan noted that through November 2021, the U.S. as…
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