NO NEED TO WORRY!
Midwest Precasters Unaffected by Midwest Precasters Unaffected by Cement Shortage
The media has recently publicized a national shortage of cement. However, the shortage, while making supplies tight, has only impacted a few specific areas of the country. The cement shortage for precasters in the Midwest has been un-noiticeable to the end-user. So, what caused the national shortage? The tight cement market this fall was a result of several factors:
1. Overall cement consumption is up 15% nationwide over the past two years.
2. Some local cement plants experienced environmental breakdowns or shutdowns.
3. Lower clinker inventory. Clinker is a substance that has been purified through intense heat into the basic elements of cement. The clinker becomes cement after being ground in a steel ball mill.
In the Midwest there should be little concern about the ability of your precaster to acquire the needed cement quantities in the future. Suppliers value the consistent, year-round demand that precasters require to accommodate a 12-month production year. Consequently, these suppliers can allocate and plan their production accordingly. In the Midwest, cast-in place concrete such as road contractors are at the mercy of weather conditions, creating peaks and valleys in their demand. While the varying demand can be difficult to plan for, it also gives cement supplies a chance to build back up over the winter months.
So what's in store for next year? No one knows for certain, but if there are not any unforeseen shutdowns and clinker inventory grows throughout the winter, then spring and summer should bode well for an ample cement supply for the upcoming year. There is also good news long-term. There are two new cement plants due to be on-line in the next few years. One in St. Louis, will supply 4 million tons annually and another in Pueblo, CO, will also supply 1 million tons annually. In other words, keep designing all those great precast concrete structures. The members of the Midwest Precast Association have you covered.
Winter 2006 Industry News
