Highway Bill Will Have Cement Consumption on Rise

Words: Dan KamysWith the passage of a five-year federal transportation bill, cement manufacturers will see a rise in consumption according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act will provide more than $305 billion to maintain and improve the nation’s roads and bridges. Cement consumptions largest impact will focus on authorizations from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). “FAST represents an average addition of 835 thousand metric tons annually to the cement industry,” said Edward J. Sullivan, chief economist and group vice-president at PCA. “Smaller increases occur in the near term (370 thousand tons for 2016) and larger net increases occur in the out years of the forecast horizon (1.4 million tons for 2020).” FAST is seen largely as an improvement over the previous MAP-21. While funding levels are modestly higher, it also represents a multi-year commitment that allows states to engage in mutli-year projects. More information on PCA is available at www.cement.org.
Terminations: The Hardest Part of Leadership
May 2026

Throughout my career, I’ve faced a wide variety of challenges, some technical, some interpersonal, and many that forced me to adapt quickly. These days, most of my work is behind a computer in an office, but the lessons I’ve learned apply wherever I go.

Damian Lang
Business Management
Read More
The Compliance Shield: Navigating the New Standards of Field Oversight
May 2026

The modern job site is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. While the physical act of laying a block remains the core of the trade, the environment surrounding that work is becoming increasingly data-driven. We are moving away from the era o

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Read More
PROSOCO Breaks New Ground With ICC‑ES Listing For Blok‑Guard and Anti‑Graffiti Products
May 2026

After years of pushing to raise the bar on third‑party verification, PROSOCO has reached another industry milestone, this time for anti‑graffiti and surface protection technologies.

Darcy Boyle
MAP Partner
Read More
Elevating Masonry: Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch
May 2026

Ask a masonry contractor how they run their jobsite, and the answer probably sounds familiar: paper logs, a flurry of texts, maybe a shared email thread. It works until it doesn’t. And yet, even as purpose-built field management software has become more a

Erin Koets
MAP Partner
Read More