Cement consumption to increase following FAST Act

According to the Portland Cement Association, cement manufacturers can expect to see a rise in consumption, following the passage of a five-year federal transportation bill.

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provides over US$305 billion to maintain and improve the country’s surface transportation. FAST has seen improvement over the previous MAP-21, with funding levels modestly higher, and represents a multi-year commitment that allows states to engage in multi-year projects. The largest impact of cement consumption will focus on authorisations from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

“FAST represents an average addition of 835 thousand tonnes annually to the cement industry,” said Edward J. Sullivan, chief economist and group vice-president at PCA. “Smaller increases occur in the near term (370 thousand tonnes for 2016) and larger net increases occur in the out years of the forecast horizon (1.4 million tonnes for 2020).”

Adapted from press release by Rebecca Bowden

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/10122015/cement-consumption-to-increase-following-fast-act-154/