Construction Aggregates Demand To Reach 21.7 Billion Tons In 2007


Worldwide demand for construction aggregates is projected to rise 4.7 percent annually through 2007 to 21.7 billion metric tons, valued at $128 billion. China which is already the largest national market will record some of the strongest increases, with its aggregates demand reaching 5.7 million metric tons in 2007, accounting for one quarter of the global total. A number of other countries including India, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey will also register strong sales gains, fueled by infrastructure construction activity and industrialization. These and other trends are presented in World Construction Aggregates, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industrial market research firm.

Demand for recycled aggregate products like crushed concrete and glass, secondary aggregates such as fly ash and slag, and mined materials like clay and shale will record the strongest gains through 2007. Advances will be spurred by environmental and land use concerns favoring recycled and secondary aggregate materials, and by rising demand for specialty products such as expanded clay and shale, which are used in applications like bridge decks, where light weight is of extreme importance.

The nonresidential building market for construction aggregates is expected to be the fastest growing end use segment. Increases will be driven by renewed strength in nonresidential building construction activity in developing parts of the world as industrialization efforts intensify. However, nonbuilding construction will continue to represent the biggest single market for aggregates, accounting for more than two thirds of worldwide demand in 2007.

Demand for construction aggregates used in the production of asphaltic concrete will rise faster than any other major application category, benefiting from continued growth in road building and maintenance spending. Sales of aggregates used in hydraulic concrete applications which accounted for close to 40 percent of all product demand in 2002 are also expected to climb at an above average pace.


WORLD CONSTRUCTION AGGREGATES DEMAND
(million metric tons)

% Annual Growth
Item 1997 2002 2007 02/97 07/02

Construction Aggregates Demand 15460
17250 21700 2.2 4.7
Crushed Stone 5488 6005 7345 1.8 4.1
Sand 4925 5585 7100 2.5 4.9
Gravel 4518 5030 6375 2.2 4.9
Other 529 630 880 3.6 6.9

© 2003 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

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