According to new analysis from the American Cement Association, cement consumption has been predicted to decline in the United States market.
The American Cement Association (ACA) Market Intelligence team released its spring forecast as part of the 67th IEEE-IAS/ACA Cement Conference in Birmingham, AL.
“’Uncertainty’ is a key consideration for the construction industry’s outlook in the near term,” ACA regional economist Trevor Storck said.
“The cement industry’s baseline assumes continued improvement in trade negotiations, like the progress seen this week with China. This will provide relief to markets and help restore some investor confidence, supporting a rebound in economic activity.
“But it’s important to note that elevated interest rates that hindered construction activity last year are still in place and continue to play a role in this year’s projections.”
The key take-outs from the ACA analysis include:
- Labour markets set to continue cooling trend without major rise in unemployment.
- Affordability remains the key hurdle for housing. ACA said “Elevated mortgage rates and home prices will take time to rebalance, holding back growth in near-term home building.”
- Modest cement consumption growth is expected to return in 2026 before robust growth in 2027.
- The ACA said “there is no obvious driver for cement consumption growth during 2025.”
- ACA’s baseline calls for the economy to narrowly avoid a recession this year before stronger growth returns in 2026 and 2027.
- ACA said the construction of highways and streets has been “plagued by the high inflationary environment of recent years.”
The American Cement Association recently announced its rebrand from the Portland Cement Association.
