Posted on 07/04/2004 9:13:11 PM PDT by uglybiker
Prices rise, construction interrupted by cement shortage
05:59 PM MST on Friday, June 25, 2004
By Becky Pallack / Arizona Daily Star
A cement shortage sent some construction workers home for part of the week as contractors braced for more bad news about price increases.
The national demand for cement grew more than 12 percent in the first quarter of the year, and demand is even higher in Arizona, said Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Portland Cement Association, a trade group. Arizona last week joined California, Nevada, Florida and other states in the Southeast in short supply. The group regularly surveys its state members to find out who has difficulty getting cement.
A strong demand for housing, coupled with a "tremendous" downturn in Mexican cement imports has negatively impacted the Arizona market, Sullivan said. A $57 anti-dumping duty is applied to each ton of cement that crosses the border, but the fee is subject to review this September by the U.S. Commerce Department. Many companies can't afford to offset their cement supplies with imports from Mexico because of the high duty fee.
Local suppliers, home builders and pool makers are feeling the pressure of the shortage.
Arizona Portland Cement Co. started rationing cement to its customers June 1, plant manager David Bittel said.
Buyers such as Tucson Ready Mix are raising prices and cutting store hours.
Tucson Ready Mix is no longer open Saturdays and prices are up about 10 percent from a year ago to $70 per cubic yard or more. The company and other concrete makers are paying the highest price increases in more than a decade, according to the Engineering News-Record, a national trade publication.
About 260 workers at W.J. Hardy Concrete stayed at home for most of last week, said owner Bill Hardy.
Hardy and other concrete contractors have been warned by their suppliers that allocations are in effect and prices are rising. And local builders have been told they won't be able to use more cement than previous years.
While the shortage hasn't slowed the pace of homebuilding yet, subcontractors have notified builders that it could be a problem soon, said Berner Loftfield, president of Desert West Construction, a custom homebuilder. He said he has seen prices climb $4 to $5 per yard recently.
For more Arizona news, visit www.azstarnet.com or www.azfamily.com.
©The Arizona Daily Star, 2004
PHOENIX - A cement shortage has slowed construction of houses and pools in Arizona, along with raising the cost of everything connected to concrete.
Cement is the powder that is mixed with water to make the paste that binds concrete. For reasons ranging from runaway growth in China to a shortage of container ships, there's a cement squeeze hampering production of concrete.
The shortage started in the Southeast, but industry watchers say Arizona has begun to feel the pinch in recent weeks.
Reports are mixed from Arizona's home-building front, where new subdivisions use up much of the concrete that comes from ready-mix plants.
(Excerpt) Read more at fox11az.com ...
Sounds like the cement industry learned a lot from the latest gas price hike.
It works like this. The corporations can buy cheap labor overseas without paying duties/taxes that would make it too expensive. That's what they pay their hard earned [cough, snort] money to lobbyists for. But we can't buy overseas building materials without the duties/taxes that make them too high. ...not to mention evil alliances between a handful of US lumber companies and the greenies to put the other lumber mills (once numerous) out of business a long time ago. They are doing a lot to our economy to try to get Kerry elected right now.
If we're going to have free market policies, we should do that instead of simply cheating any potential domestic competition.
The Chinese are also responsible. They are buying raw materials buy the shipload.
Right now, we just can't keep up
Not really. My company saw the increase in demand coming a long time ago, which is why they invested over $120 million in expansion/modernization to double our output of cement.
The problem is, right now, doubling our output ain't enough.
My ex brother in law works at a cement plant in Lucerne Valley. I should ask him what's up.
How in hell do you run out of powdered rocks?
Population is fueling the building boom in residential housing and most of the population increase is from immigration. Housing is the "new technology" that the Congressmen keep alluding to but never specify. Unfortunately, it is sucking up resources including water in the Southwest.
How can we possibly have a shortage in the cement industry? There is no trick to setting up a cement plant.
Now's your chance.
Give me money. This is a concrete example of a business opportunity.
Now that was a solid joke.
A ready mix plant...no problem. A cement plant...whole 'nother ball o' wax.
If that's true, money won't be any problem for you to get.
Funny thing is I happen to know a man who financed another man to start a concrete plant in Reno, Nevada (a long time ago)
As it turned out having a plant wasn't a problem and he was doing fine. What WAS the problem was his price. He got a visit one day by some folks who told him what he was to charge...Ever watch the Sopranos?
Six months ago cement was 66.00 per yard. Today it is in excess of 125.00 per yard. That is here in Moore County, NC. We just had a party celebrating the 4th. All of the contractors and subs in attendance were really bitching about this.
I have a company that does pool service and renovations...Marion Ceramics hasn't shipped coping bricks in over a month to my wholesalers. That coupled with a chemical plant fire in Georgia has made this a difficult summer. I've also heard rumours in the contracting industry that certain materials/supplies were being sold to Iraq contractors first who were paying higher than industry prices...
Well of course the manufacturing process is complicated these days, but still...the basic materials are rocks.
Cool website. I'll still ask my ex bro what's up.
Arizona is short of another essential building ingredient: water.
I was going to whine about it being $90 a yard here in N. Arkansas, but you've got me beat. (And its gone up 3 times since I started laying the forms for a new patio).
I heard it is the Chinese buying all the steel and cement for the Three Gorges Dam.
[moving voice to back of throat] Ya t'ink I was born yeste'day?
Sounds like the cement industry learned a lot from the latest gas price hike.
Not really. My company saw the increase in demand coming a long time ago, which is why they invested over $120 million in expansion/modernization to double our output of cement.
The problem is, right now, doubling our output ain't enough.
I stand corrected. I did some studying on the issue and I don't believe their is a gouge involved. There really is a regional shortage.
Don't even bother looking a plywood prices.
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