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Cement, Concrete and Construction Material Industry Profile Excerpt
| SIC Codes: 1442, 3241, 3271, 3272, 3273 NAICS Codes: 3273, 212321 Page Length: 10-12 Last Quarterly Update: 11/17/2008 View Sample Industry Profile |
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The US mineral construction materials industry makes bulk construction products with combined annual revenue of about $75 billion, of which 60 percent is due to cement and concrete products. Foreign companies own a majority of US cement capacity, including Holcim (Switzerland); Cemex (Mexico); Buzzi Unicem (Italy); and Lafarge (France). The industry includes about 120 cement manufacturers, hundreds of local sand and gravel quarries, and thousands of ready-mix concrete operators. About 130 companies operate brick plants, 500 produce asphalt, 200 make gypsum products, and about 1,000 make concrete blocks and pipes.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Because cement is a commodity product, manufacturers compete chiefly based on price. Production economies of scale are important, but are limited by the cost of transporting the finished product. The efficiencies that can be achieved with new energy-efficient (but capital-intensive) "dry" production technology are a major source of competition. Small manufacturers may not have the financial resources or production volume to justify investing in the most efficient technology, putting them at a competitive cost disadvantage. Cement imports from Canada are an important competitor in northern states.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Cement and other mineral construction materials are used mainly to construct buildings, roads, bridges, sewers, and other types of infrastructure. Because of the limited processing required to produce these materials, most companies that mine the raw material also make and distribute the finished product. Raw materials, like sand, gravel, shale, gypsum, and limestone, are quarried ...
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