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Volume & Price Trends - US Cement Industry
Industry trends
The US cement industry generates $17 billion of revenue measured at the mill net price. The industry continues a slow but steady recovery from the downturn resulting from the general economic crisis in 2008.
Between 2014 and 2024, shipments grew at a cumulative average growth rate of 1.5% per year from 99.4 million short (2,000 lbs.) tons in 2014 to 115.6 million short tons in 2024.
The chart above is based on the mineral commodity survey information published by the US Geological Survey updated in March 2025.
This updated report includes minor revisions to data reported for the the prior years.
Insights
The full year volumes in 2024 remain well below the previous peak for annual shipments of 2005. Annual shipments of 115.6 million tons in 2024 were 24 million tons, or 17%, below that prior peak year.
U.S. production capacity does not support this level of cement consumption so the U.S. imports over one fifth of its cement requirements.
Current cement import information is detailed in a separate section below.
US Cement Consumption by State
Ten States account for > 50% of Cement Consumption
Shipments of Portland, Blended, and Masonry cements totaled 116 million U.S. short tons (105 million metric tons) in 2024, down by 5% from the prior calendar year. The top ten cement consuming states - Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, New York, Illinois, and Tennessee accounted for 55% of U.S. consumption during 2024.
Texas was the leading destination of US cement shipments in 2024 and consumed 17% of the cement sold in the United States.
Insights
Three states states dominated cement consumption in both 2024 and 2023:
- Texas
- California
- Florida
These three states were the destination of about one third of U.S. cement shipments in both calendar years.
US Cement Shipment and Import Trends
Imports of cement are an increasing proportion of overall supply due to constrained U.S. production
U.S. cement production capacity has been relatively stagnant over the past decade so imports have played an increasingly important role in satisfying the demand. Additional investments in modernization for efficiency and increased production volume at some domestic production plants were largely offset by capacity eliminated elsewhere.
Economic decisions related to the additional investment otherwise required to bring individual older plants up to the stringent emissions limits of the 2010 National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations, or market conditions in specific geographies, led to these offsetting capacity eliminations. Cement production capacity was increased by conversions from Ordinary Portland Cement to Portland Limestone Cement at many cement plants in 2022 and 2023. These conversions can add 10% - 15% to production capacity.
In 2024 net imports accounted for 23% of US cement shipments.
Insights
Imports now supply over one fifth of U.S. cement consumption. Imports as a percentage of shipments peaked at 26% of shipments in 2006 and fell to 7% of US shipments by 2012.
The US Geological Survey reported that net imports of cement and clinker decreased by 7% in 2024 over the prior year in its annual commodity survey published in January 2025. Net cement and clinker imports of 26 million short tons accounted for 23% of 2024 shipments.
Where does the cement come from?
The countries of origin for the imported cement are detailed in the section below.
Where do U.S. Cement Imports come from?
Turkey and Canada supplied nearly half of the cement imported into the United States during 2024
U.S. cement demand has grown faster than U.S. cement production capacity over the past decade. Consequently, imports have played an increasingly important role in satisfying the demand. Imports now supply over one fifth of U.S. cement consumption.
Net imports decreased by 1 million tons from 29 million short (2,000 lbs.) tons in 2023 to 28 million short tons in 2024. Turkey remains the largest source of cement imports into the United however the volume of Turkish cement imported into the U.S. decreased from 8.7 million short tons in the prior year to 7.9 million short tons imported during 2024.
Where does it go?
Over 20% of the imported cement came in through the Houston / Galveston customs district.
The next highest volumes of cement imports came in through the Tampa, San Francisco,
New York City, and Detroit custom districts.
Insights
Imports now supply about one fifth of U.S. cement consumption. Imports, as a percentage of total cement shipments, peaked at 26% of the tons of cement sold in 2006 before falling to 7% of US shipments by 2012 after the financial crisis caused a sharp drop in demand. Imports have slowly been building as demand for cement recovered and imports supplied 22% of total U.S. demand in 2024.
The United States imported cement from 30 countries during 2023. Turkey and Canada, supplied 48% of the cement imported into the United States during 2024. The next largest suppliers of cement, by volume, were Vietnam, Greece, and Mexico. These five countries supplied 77% of the cement imported into the United States during 2024.