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The key to spurring a US construction boom: efficient, low carbon cement production. By Steve Bryan
In recent years, high mortgage and interest rates and a slowdown in housing starts – the number of new residential projects initiated annually – have weakened cement demand in the US. At the same time, rising prices, driven by high energy costs and supply chain constraints, have worsened the situation, marking 2024 as the worst year since 2017 in cement production volume. As a result, the US has entered a cement recession and deficit, now relying on foreign imports for approximately 25 percent of its cement supply.
While attention shifts to the possibility that the cement deficit may become more expensive as the US takes a harder line on global import tariffs, we can’ t forget that cement production is a major contributor to carbon emissions- responsible for almost eight percent globally. Fortunately, a new generation of low-carbon cement technologies offers new ways to use existing resources more effectively while significantly reducing emissions by up to 70 percent. These solutions allow the industry to expand without sacrificing sustainability or affordability, and without major changes to existing manufacturing processes.
Creating a competitive edge
With construction activity expected to be burdened by increasingly high interest rates in the short term and US demand for cement continuing to fluctuate, the industry faces a critical need to evolve beyond traditional production methods- methods that have remained unchanged for many years now, unlike in Europe, where advanced cement technologies are already in use.
These methods use materials with much greater efficiency; they are cost-competitive and deliver the required performance in terms of durability, workability and strength in any concrete they are used to make. They also significantly reduce CO 2 emissions during the manufacturing process.
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