Cement Americas

SPR 2013

Cement Americas provides comprehensive coverage of the North and South American cement markets from raw material extraction to delivery and tranportation to end user.

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WWW.CEMENTAMERICAS.COM Editorial Office 11555 Central Parkway, Suite 401 Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. Phone: 904.721.2925 • Fax: 904.721.2930 LOOKING AHEAD At this year's World of Concrete Show, Portland Cement Association Chief Economist Ed Sullivan suggested everyone wear sunglasses for his updated economic forecast because the future was looking so bright. I wouldn't go quite that far, but I appreciate the sentiment. Editor Mark Kuhar, mkuhar@mining-media.com 330.722.4081 Assistant Editor Josephine Smith, jsmith@mining-media.com Graphic Designer Francesca Peeples, fpeeples@mining-media.com Vice President/Editorial Director Steve Fiscor, sfiscor@mining-media.com Sullivan said improving underlying economic fundamentals, the existence of large pent-up demand balances, and the diminishment of economic fiscal cliff uncertainty will combine to result in strong growth rates in 2013 and an increase in cement consumption. According to the latest forecast from PCA, there will be an 8.1 percent growth in cement consumption in 2013, significantly higher than the tepid growth projected in its fall 2012 report. The upward revisions reflect adjustments made in light of the recent fiscal cliff accord, recognition of stronger economic momentum, and markedly more optimistic assessments regarding residential construction activity. "Growth in 2013 cement consumption will be largely driven by gains in residential construction," Sullivan said. "Housing starts should reach nearly 950,000 units, with single family construction near 700,000 starts during 2013. We see starts hitting the one million mark in 2014 or 2015." Sullivan did caution, however, that the first quarter of 2013 would actually show declines compared to the same period in 2012. "It is important to point out that this potential decline in first quarter growth rates does not signal a weakening in market fundamentals, but rather a hangover from favorable 2012 weather conditions. Stronger gains in cement consumption growth are expected during the second quarter." The accelerated consumption predicted during the second half of 2013 should carry into the following year. PCA projects an increase of 8.3 percent for 2014. Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico for January 2012 were about 4.8 million metric tons (Mt), according to preliminary numbers from the U.S. Geological Survey. That is about the same as December 2012 production, but a slight increase over the 4.6 Mt reported in January 2012. We are looking ahead, and hoping to see that predicted production jump sooner rather than later. – Mark S. Kuhar 2 President/Publisher Peter Johnson, pjohnson@mining-media.com Vice President/Sales & Marketing John Bold, jbold@mining-media.com U.S. & Canada, Sales Sean Carr, scarr@mining-media.com Scandinavia, UK and European, Sales Manager Colm Barry, colm.barry@telia.com German Sales Manager Gerd Strasmann, info@strasmann-media.de Rest of World, Sales Peter Johnson, pjohnson@mining-media.com Eastern and Central U.S. Classified Advertising Gina Kelly, 866.293.5001, gkelly@mining-media.com Western U.S. Classified Advertising Christin Doran, 866.293.5001, cdoran@mining-media.com Ad Traffic Manager Erica Freeman, efreeman@mining-media.com For more information, see page 4 of Rock Products. EXECUTIVE OFFICE: Mining Media, Inc. 8751 East Hampden Avenue, Suite B1 Denver, CO 80231 USA P: 303.283.0640, F: 303.283.0641 www.mining-media.com COPYRIGHT 2013: Cement Americas ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.cementamericas.com • Spring 2013 • CEMENT AMERICAS

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