PCA REPORTS CEMENT INDUSTRY SUPPLIES POISED FOR INCREASED INFRASTRUCTURE, WALL CONSTRUCTION

A Portland Cement Association (PCA) press release, "​America’s Cement Manufacturers Ready to Support Public Construction and Infrastructure Revival," notes that "U.S. cement manufacturers have ample production capacity to meet increased demand from infrastructure revitalization efforts being contemplated by the Trump Administration and Congress."

​Of particular interest in Texas is President Trump's border wall proposal.  PCA issued an analysis of potential wall construction that showed Texas to have the longest length of unprotected border of the four border states, 217 miles.  The estimated total amount of cement needed (if the wall were built of concrete--which of course has not yet been determined) would be between 1 and 5 percent of annual Texas cement capacity.  This demand could easily be supplied by Texas cement producers, even in a robust economy, as current capacity utilization is running at 79.3 percent.  The wall would likely be a multi-year effort, further spreading out the cement impacts in Texas.

A separate PCA report on increased U.S. infrastructure construction and its impact on cement demand also concluded that the incremental amount of cement needed nationally would not strain this country's cement capacity.

PCA's president, Jim Toscas, concluded “Cement companies have made significant investments to increase capacity, productivity, and energy efficiency.  Those investments and innovations will pay off as the industry is called upon to support the infrastructure revival our country so desperately needs.”