Bridge collapse won't boost US cement demand until 2009

摘要

US: Cement and steel companies, hard-hit by the housing downturn, may have to wait two years to see any increase in demand caused by the collapse of Minnesota's Interstate 35W bridge. Congress is trying to fast-track federal funding for repairs to the bridge, but Ed Sullivan, chief economist at the Portland Cement Association, has said that after inspections are completed it is likely to be up to two years before government contracts would be issued. "Demand would be ramping up at a time when industry can meet it," Sullivan said, because companies had already implemented production increase plans for 2008 and beyond, in hopes of a housing rebound. Now they can look forward to increased demand for bridge reconstruction. Mired in a slump since the record consumption and spending seen in 2005, the US cement industry embarked on an expansion effort and plans to invest 5.5 us dollars bn to increase domestic capacity 20 percent by 2010, Sullivan said. 122.5Mst of cement was consumed in 2005, a number expected to drop to 116.5M in 2007, before surging to 128.9M in 2010. Foreign companies own about 81 percent of US cement capacity, according to the PCA. The three largest providers - Lafarge, Holcim and Cemex -each control about 13 percent of the market.