PCA outlines regional US cement consumption growth trends for 2021-23

The PCA's Market Intelligence team has released its latest US regional cement consumption forecasts from its June 2021 economic update, which did not take into account the possible passing of an Infrastructure Bill. 

The country's western territory consists of the Rocky Mountains (RM) and the Pacific Region (PR). The RM led the US in cement consumption in 2020 with a growth of 11.5 per cent, whereas the PR only managed 0.1 per cent growth, with California managing 2.2 per cent growth. 

In the year to date in 2021, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Montana have the highest growth rates for cement consumption in the west, while negative growth is present in Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado. Going forward, cement consumption in the RM is forecast to be down 4.4 per cent in 2021 and up 1.6 per cent in 2022 and 2023. The PR is forecast to see cement consumption grow by 0.9 per cent in 2021, followed by 1.4 per cent in 2022 and 1.6 per cent in 2023. 

The central region is made up of the West South Central (WSC) and West North Central (WNC) divisions. The forecast is for cement consumption to decline 10 per cent in WNC in 2021 and a more moderate decline of 1.2 per cent in 2022, before a rise of 3.7 per cent in 2023. The WSC is more resilient and is forecast to be flat in 2021 having seen 9.9 per cent growth in 2020. The PCA estimates that the WSC region will post a consumption increase of 1.2 per cent in 2022 and two per cent in 2023. 

The northeastern region consists of East North Central (ENC), Middle Atlantic (MA) and New England (NE). All three regions have cement consumption below the national average. NE is estimated to see cement consumption rise by 1.2 per cent in 2021 and 1.5 per cent next year. The MA region is predicted to have a drop of 2.2 per cent in cement consumption this year and a rise of 1.2 per cent in 2022. The ENC is forecast to see a similar decline in cement consumption of 1.6 per cent in 2021 and a rise of 1.3 per cent in 2022. 

The southeast region is made up of the South Atlantic (SA) and the East South Central (ESC) regions. Growing population demographics are keeping cement demand high in these regions. In the SA region, cement consumption is seen to exceed 7Mt in 2021 and reach 7.5Mt in 2022-23. The ESC is forecast to have a cement consumption of 2.6Mt in 2022 and 2023.