New US capacity plans to ease imbalances

A pick-up in the number of new capacity projects announced in the USA is set to ease the imbalances caused by depressed economic growth and subsequent plant closures and expansion postponements seen over the past period, the Portland Cement Association has said.

Approximately 7.5Mta of new clinker capacity is scheduled to come on-line in the USA by the end of the PCA’s forecast horizon (2018), a recent PCA report stated. If all plans announced in 2012 and onward were to come to fruition, approximately 11.3Mta of new clinker capacity would be added to the industry, the report added.

With the PCA’s latest cement demand forecasts suggesting a more robust growth scenario, this will further reduce inventories and boost utilisation rates. Moreover, the  PCA notes that “due to sizeable consumption projects, an increased reliance on imports may materialise toward the back-end of the forecast horizon.