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Builders Continue to Urge Commerce Secretary Evans to Help Alleviate Cement Shortages

With the Commerce Department announcing record new home sales for May and builders in Florida and across many parts of the country reporting difficulties meeting their construction schedules due to a shortage of cement, NAHB last week reiterated its call to the Administration to eliminate barriers to imports of cement from Mexico.

“The U.S. has long relied on imports of cement to supplement limited domestic production capacity, and as the economic recovery proceeds, demand for this critical building material continues to grow,” said NAHB President Bobby Rayburn.

On May 28 and June 4, NAHB wrote to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to report that builders were experiencing cement shortages in a number of states. To help ensure that there are adequate domestic supplies, NAHB urged the Administration to eliminate, at least temporarily, the high anti-dumping duties on Mexican cement.

“Today, as the situation deteriorates, we urge the Administration to take prompt action to help increase supplies and to relieve upward pressure on cement prices, which have soared in recent months,” said Rayburn.

In 2003, about 20% of the cement used in the U.S. came from imports. Strong demand from China, which produces and uses more than 40% of the world’s cement, has monopolized the ships needed to carry products to the U.S., and that has led to tight cement supplies in some areas of the country.

Mexico is the most logical source of supplementary imports. A cement shipment from Asia takes 44 days on average to arrive at a U.S. port, compared to a delivery from Mexico, which can be made in only four days. However, an anti-dumping duty of $57 per ton makes Mexican cement financially infeasible.

Cement is the key ingredient in concrete, and concrete is used for housing in everything from foundations, driveways and sidewalks to, in some cases, even full construction.

A report released this month by the Portland Cement Association has found evidence of cement shortages in 23 states.

“U.S. consumers of cement need a reliable, efficient source of supply for that portion of the U.S. market that must be met by imports. Mexico can meet much of that demand if allowed to do so,” said Rayburn.

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