U.S. cement consumption is expected to continue gaining ground lost in the recession and post healthy annual increases through 2019, according to a PCA forecast released last week at its spring Board of Directors meeting.
PCA Chief Economist and Group Vice President Edward J. Sullivan projects that cement use will grow nearly 6.4 million tons or 7.5 percent in 2015. This compares to a 7.0-million-ton gain in 2014, an 8.7 percent increase.
Sullivan attributes the slight decay in the growth rate to low oil prices and a reduction in drilling activity.
By 2019, cement is expected to return to its peak level of 120 million tons reached in 2006.