Cement and construction news from North America

Cement and construction

USA

As reported by Reuters, construction spending in the US increased by 0.6% in August 2013. The Commerce Department said that spending reached US$915.1 billion, the highest since April 2009. Within this, spending on public construction projects grew by 0.4%, while spending on private construction projects and private residential construction works rose by 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively.

The latest Cement Mineral Industry Survey from the USGS revealed that shipments of Portland and blended cement reached 8.1 million in the US and Puerto Rico in July 2013, marking 11% y/y growth. Shipments of masonry cement also increased, rising by 12% y/y to 194 000 t. Although clinker production fell slightly to 6.2 million t during the month, production levels for January – July 2013 came in at 38.6 million t, higher than the corresponding period in 2012.

Canada

The latest statistics for construction investment in Canada reveal q/q increases in 3Q13, although results vary by region:

• Investment in non-residential building construction came in at CA$13 billion, 2.7% higher than in 2Q13 when levels were hit by a construction strike in Quebec. A fall in commercial and institutional investment led to a decline in Ontario, however a rise in these areas, in addition to industrial investment, meant Alberta fared well in 3Q13.
• Total investment in commercial building construction grew by 3.1% q/q to reach CA$7.8 billion. Investment levels increased by 23.9% q/q in Quebec but dropped by 1.5% q/q in Ontario.
• Institutional construction investment came in at CA$3.4 billion, representing a q/q rise of 6.3%.
• Investment in industrial construction projects was up 6.2% q/q to CA$1.8 billion. Greater spending on the construction of primary industrial and manufacturing sites in Quebec meant that it saw the biggest rise in spending.

Cement industry technical training

The IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference has announced that the 2014 event will include Junior Professional Training. Industry vendor experts will deliver presentations on:

• Baghouse operation and preventative maintenance.
• Motors and drives. Crushing and grinding.
• Quality control/emissions analysis and reporting.
• Automation.
• Alternate fuels and feeding systems.
• Refractory applications.
• Cement process.

The presentations will be noncommercial and will focus on technology.

“We are excited with the reception this new level of training is receiving. We wanted more involvement with our younger, newer professionals to encourage industry knowledge growth and talent retention,” commented 2014 Conference Chairman Derek Nicholls, Senior V.P. of Essroc.

Concrete Sustainability Award

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) recognised the achievements of Titan America CEO Aris Papadopoulos with the Concrete Sustainability Award at the ACI Fall Convention in Arizona. Papadopoulos was selected as the recipient of this award “for his unprecedented and exemplary leadership in unifying the concrete industry in North America in developing a common direction on concrete sustainability and his international pioneering efforts on sustainability and resilience of concrete.” This is the first time that a cement executive has been given the award. As well as being CEO of Titan America, Papadopoulos is also the Founding Chair of the Concrete Joint Sustainability Initiative; the Chair of the Portland Cement Association (PCA) Nominating Committee and a past Chair of PCA and the PCA Sustainability and Communication Committees; and a past Chair of the United Nations International Strategy on Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) Private Sector Advisory Group; a Board Member of CTLGroup; an Industry Advisory Group member for the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub.

Edited from various sources by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/05112013/cement_construction_newsbytes_canada_usa_378/