U.S. Concrete Competition
Now Viewing U.S. Concrete's competition in: Cement, Concrete and Construction Material (primary)
Call Preparation Questions
Customers, Marketing, Pricing, Competition
How large an area does the company serve? - Cement and bitumen can be shipped longer distances, but sand and stone are usually quarried locally and shipped no more than 100 miles.
How many competitors in the area? - Cement is a commodity product, sold based on price and availability.
What end-use industries do major customers serve? - Residential, commercial, and highway construction are all affected by different economic forces.
How do recent trends in government highway spending affect the company? - Government spending on infrastructure and transportation, the least cyclical sectors of the construction market, anchors long-term growth in the cement, concrete, and gravel industries.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is determined by construction rates for public infrastructure, as well as for housing and nonresidential buildings. The profitability of individual companies is strongly dependent on efficient operations, as products are commodities and companies compete chiefly on price. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in purchasing and the ability to invest in technologies that improve efficiency. Small manufacturers can compete through superior customer service and by serving small or rural markets.
Full Industry Overview For Cement, Concrete and Construction Material
Business Challenges
CRITICAL ISSUES
High Dependence on Cyclical Construction Industry - Demand for sand, stone, bricks, gravel, cement, and gypsum is highly cyclical, depending on the level of new construction. Local construction markets, which can be very volatile, are affected by weather, interest rates, population migration, business spending, and government revenues.
Pricing Pressures - Because basic construction materials are commodity products, manufacturers compete largely based on price. With excess capacity in the US, industry returns were low in the past decade, a big reason why the majority of capacity has passed into foreign ownership.
Industries Where U.S. Concrete Competes
- Construction
- Construction Materials
- Aggregates, Concrete & Cement(primary)
- Construction Materials
