Ken Simonson Cement Quotations

My suspicion is that after the first month it takes effect, you'll see more cement showing up in Arizona.

I think it's likely that prices will spike again and I think it's near certainty there will be some material shortages, ... Our cement shortages will certainly get worse. We're heading for severe shortages of cement at least until those ports are fully operational.

There's plenty of cement worldwide, but in the U.S., cement production capacity has leveled off and no one is building more plants.

In 2005, we had 32 areas (of the country) that ran short of cement at certain times of the year. With the demand for cement growing in 2006 and very little expansion of production, I think further supplies are limited.

For 2006, I expect to see healthy demand for nonresidential construction but also double-digit price increases for many construction inputs. I expect continuing spot shortages of cement that will push concrete prices higher nationwide.