Increased demand for US air travel is expected to help drive increased cement consumption over the next 25 years, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). Population spikes, overall economic growth and airport expansion are among the factors driving the demand for more air travel, a recently released report from PCA shows.
“With more people traveling by air, you will need more capacity at airports – that means more cement is needed for concrete used in runways, terminals and other airport facilities,” said PCA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Ed Sullivan.
According to the principal author of the PCA study, Brian Schmidt, there are several factors driving airport-related cement production, including business and leisure travel, as well as the need to move more cargo by air.
Personal air travel
The number of personal travel passengers is projected to grow to 910m annual passengers by this number could climb as high 1.015bn. Average annual growth could top 2.1 per cent.
Business travel
The number of business travellers is projected to grow to as high as 409m annual passengers by 2040, compared with 279m in 2017. Average annual growth could reach 1.7 per cent.
Cargo carried by air
Cargo freight volumes are expected to climb as high as 21Mta by 2040, compared to 12.7Mt in 2017, representing an average annual growth of 2.2 per cent.
PCA expects cement consumption in the airports market to approach 2.4Mta by 2040 – possibly topping 2.6Mt – compared with current levels of 1.5Mt. Areas of airport-related cement consumption is likely to break down in the following way, PCA said:
• Of the 2.4Mt total, 65 per cent, or 1.56Mt, will likely be attributed to runway replacement.
• Runway expansion is projected to contribute around 561,000Mt, accounting for about 23 per cent of airport-related consumption.
• New terminal expansion is expected to account for 11 per cent of consumption in the airport market and generate around 267,000t of consumption.
