Cement & Concrete Additives
Growth in the US cement and concrete additives market will total 7.0% annually through 2020, reaching $4.0 billion. Advances will be driven by rising levels of building construction activity, which will
This report segments the cement and concrete additives industry by product and market. Chemical additives are also segmented by raw material. Cement and concrete additive data are provided in dollars with selected data also provided in pounds or tons. Additionally, the study segments concrete demand by customer and market, and cement demand by customer, market, and region. Data for cement and concrete are provided in tons.
Cement and concrete additives include:
• Chemical Additives -- Air Entrainers; Coloring Agents; Water Reducers; Superplasticizers; Set Accelerators; Set Retarders
• Mineral Additives -- Fly Ash; Gypsum; Slag Cement (GGBFS); Silica Fume
• Fiber Additives -- Steel Fiber; Synthetic Fiber; Other Fibers
Chemical additives will remain the largest of these through 2020, accounting for 49% of the market. Fastest growth will be for fiber additives due to growing awareness of their potential performance benefits.
Raw materials used in the production of chemical additives include:
• Surfactants & Dispersants -- Lignosulfonates; Other
• Iron Oxide
• Calcium Chloride
Surfactants and dispersants are the largest category of raw materials used in chemical additives. High value, advanced products in this category, such as polycarboxylates, will experience the strongest gains.
Major markets for cement and concrete additives are:
• Building Construction -- Residential; Nonresidential
• Highway & Street Construction
• Other Markets
Building construction was the leading outlet in 2015, accounting for 50% of demand. The most rapid gains through 2020 are forecast for the residential construction market, fueled by a surge in single family housing starts.
To a large extent, producers of chemical, mineral, and fiber additives are distinct from one another. They include chemical and construction product manufacturers, cement manufacturers, and companies specializing in fiber additive production. Sales figures are provided for significant producers, such as BASF, Boral, Buzzi Unicem, GCP Applied Technologies (formerly Grace Construction Products, a division of Grace), Headwaters, LafargeHolcim, Propex, Euclid Chemical, and Sika.