Ed Sullivan, Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) chief economist and senior vice president of market Intelligence, anticipates the U.S. economy will gradually weaken during the first half of 2024 but will likely slowly recover in the second half. Sullivan made that prediction and others for the industries at a press conference held at World of Concrete 2024 in Las Vegas. Sullivan…
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Cement Leaders Tie CO2 Reduction to Permitting, Regulatory Certainty
Portland Cement Association (PCA) producer-member executives, convening for a panel during the late-April IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference in Dallas, confirmed that alternative fuel usage and carbon capture storage (CCS) technology are positioning their industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a 2050 timetable true to the PCA Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. PCA Chair and Votorantim Cimentos North America CEO Filiberto Ruiz…
Read MoreEnergy Star Cement Plants and Emissions Prevention
The 86 facilities recognized in the EPA Energy Star Industrial Program – 10 cement plants in eight states among them – are credited with saving more than 100 trillion Btu of energy and preventing 6 million-plus metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The cement and peer plants earned Energy Star certification for operating in the top 25% of energy efficiency…
Read MoreNSSGA Convention Returns to Las Vegas
“More than 1,100 industry leaders gathered in Las Vegas for the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s (NSSGA) 2023 Joint Annual Convention. This event occurs every three years and includes collaborative programming with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The 2023 meeting theme of Building the Future Together, focuses on the unity among the…
Read MoreCharles Machemehl Dies; Worked for Vulcan, PCA, GCMA
Brigadier General (USAF, ANG) Charles Albert Machemehl Jr., 87, of Vestavia Hills, Ala., died on Jan. 9 as a result of the Covid virus. He was born in Houston, and he was awarded a full scholarship to play football for The University of Texas Longhorns. He played varsity football, completed ROTC and graduated with a B.S. degree in civil engineering.…
Read MorePCA Announces 2022 Focus at World of Concrete
Portland Cement Association (PCA) President and CEO Mike Ireland, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Ed Sullivan and Senior Vice President of Sustainability Rick Bohan unveiled the near-term goals and 2022 focus for the cement and concrete industry’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, a plan to make the entire value chain carbon neutral by 2050, at the 2022 World of Concrete…
Read MoreOne More Giant Step
When the FAST Act was signed into law in 2015 by President Obama, it averaged $45 billion per year in spending on roads and bridges. Contrast that to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act just passed by the Senate. The bill, which now goes to the House, averages just over $70 billion per year, according to National Stone, Sand &…
Read MoreEd Sullivan Speaks
June 8, 2021 – Today at World of Concrete, Portland Cement Association Chief Economist Ed Sullivan gave the industry three scenarios for cement consumption based on 1) the chances of no infrastructure bill; 2) the American jobs plan at face value; and 3) the American Jobs Plan with a compromise. He then presented a weighted average. The weighted average is 2021:…
Read MoreHouse Passes Highway Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted 363-64 to pass a six-year, nearly $325 billion highway and transit bill after a contentious vetting of proposed amendments and an intense debate about federal gas taxes. The measure must now be reconciled with the Senate version of the bill.
Read MorePCA: Federal Emergency Funds Not Nearly Enough
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced a $232 million relief fund to repair roads and bridges damaged by winter storms. While this is a positive step, long-term federal funding to mend our nation’s crumbling national infrastructure is still desperately needed, said the Portland Cement Association (PCA).
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