Cementing solid relationships

摘要

President Donald Trump, the developer of skyscrapers, luxury hotels and golf courses, has pledged to rebuild America. Unsurprisingly, cement manufacturers have expressed enthusiasm for the proposals, including Mexican multinational Ce-mex and French-Swiss giant LafargeHolcim. The Portland Cement Association (PCA), the industry lobbyists, anticipates a boon. Ed Sullivan, the PCA's chief economist, says: "Growth in cement consumption is likely to accelerate if Trump administration economic initiatives materialise." But the specifics of the US$1T infrastructure package (see p7-8)) are far from set, despite earlier signals from the White House that the proposals would be a priority in the first 100 days of the administration. In May, the PCA and representatives of the US concrete industry pitched up on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress and the Trump administration with the message "don't delay" on the infrastructure revitalisa-tion programme.