Concrete is the basis of almost everything. It is used to build buildings, highways, bridges, roads, and more.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, concrete fell victim to the same phenomena that affected other vital materials and goods: tangled supply chains and labor shortages. And demand for concrete – and its integral part, cement – doesn’t seem to have increased until after the Senate passed the $ 1 trillion infrastructure package to modernize America’s roads, bridges, and tunnels.
“In the short term, we continue to have supply chain difficulties, especially in certain markets, and so prices are rising,” Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, told CNBC. “At the moment the supply doesn’t seem to be increasing to meet the demand.”
There is also a shortage of workers in the industry for skilled workers and truck drivers. And the recent housing boom is driving demand for concrete and cement, and increasing pressure on the industry to increase capacity.
In addition, there is also a push to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions from industry. A 2019 study published by the National Academy of Sciences estimates that global cement production is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions, making it the largest single industrial carbon emitter.
Watch the video above to learn more about the cement-concrete supply chain and whether U.S. industry can meet the upcoming demand from the new $ 1 trillion infrastructure spending plan.
