Cement, Concrete and Construction Material
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Industry Overview
The US cement, concrete, and construction material industry includes more than 5,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $60 billion. Major companies include Ash Grove Cement Company, National Cement Company, Texas Industries, US Concrete, and Vulcan Materials, as well as the US operations of foreign companies such as Cemex (Mexico), CRH (Ireland), Holcim (Switzerland), FCC (Spain), and LaFarge (France). The industry includes about 150 cement manufacturing companies, 2,500 ready-mix concrete manufacturing companies, and about 2,700 companies that make concrete block, brick, pipe, and other concrete products.
Some cement and concrete products companies also own sand and gravel quarrying operations, which are covered in the nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying industry profile.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is determined primarily by nonresidential and residential construction activity. The profitability of individual companies is strongly dependent on efficient operations, as products are commodities and companies compete chiefly on price. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in purchasing and the ability to invest in technologies that improve efficiency. Small manufacturers can compete through superior customer service and by serving small or rural markets.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major products include ready-mix concrete (about half of industry sales), cement (15 percent), concrete block and brick (10 percent), and items such as concrete beams, girders, pipe, and wall panels. Because of the limited processing required to produce cement and concrete, many companies both mine the raw material and make and distribute the finished product.
Raw materials, such as sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone, are quarried from open pits or mined in capital-intensive operations using drills, explosives, and heavy machinery. Cement is made from limestone that is crushed, finely ground, mixed with clays, and heated to nearly 3,000 degrees in large rotary kilns that are typically fired with oil, gas, or coal dust. The heat-treated material, called "clinker," is ground to powder and mixed with a small amount of gypsum. Cement of various qualities can be made by adding other ingredients. The most common type of cement produced is called portland cement.
Concrete is made by mixing cement with sand and rock (called "aggregate"), and water. The proportions of these ingredients, and the types of aggregate, determine the concrete's physical characteristics. Concrete begins to set within a few hours after being mixed, although total curing takes many days. Cement is often sold to "ready-mix" operators who custom-mix and deliver batches of liquid concrete to construction sites, but some cement manufacturers make their own ready-mix concrete.
