Concrete Industry Outlook: What’s Ahead for 2025 and Beyond
The start of a new year opens the door for countless possibilities — and, for concrete and construction crews, questions as to what comes next. The General Chipping crew has dug deep into online forecasts, expert opinions and industry overviews, all in an effort to better understand the coming year’s construction and concrete industry outlook.
From what crews like yours are looking at in terms of affordability to how changing regulations might impact material acquisition and how technology comes into play, too, it’s a high-level look at the issues expected to impact projects in the coming year. Sit back, read up and stand better prepared for 2025. Our concrete industry outlook is here to help!
Construction Activity Will Increase Due to Lower Interest Rates & Eased Inflation
Experts expect construction crews will see an uptick in business beginning in mid-2025 as economic conditions offer improved affordability. As the Portland Cement Association’s Ed Sullivan said during the association’s fall meeting, project growth is tied to anticipated interest rate decreases, as well as expectations that inflation will improve. Even so, change will take time.
Sullivan noted that rates will remain high in the immediate future. By mid-year, however, lower mortgage rates and increased supply will make homes more affordable and move residential construction efforts forward. Nonresidential construction is expected to see improvements, as well, but on a slower timeline — and likely not until 2026. The For Construction Pros website offers more information about the Portland Cement Association’s concrete industry outlook.
Future Tariffs May Drive Prices Up for a Wide Range of Building Materials
Stabilized prices benefited construction efforts in late 2024, but economists note that changes to U.S. trade policy under the incoming presidential administration will make things somewhat unpredictable. Tariffs could impact the price of imported materials while also affecting prices for made-in-America products that compete with those manufactured abroad.
In the immediate future, companies that rush to purchase large quantities of materials before updated trade policies come into play could face higher input prices. The Construction Dive website offers a full report of potential tariffs’ potential impacts on the industry.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Continued Effects Will Generate Public Construction Projects
Now in its third year, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — authorized $1.2 trillion to be spent on transportation and infrastructure projects. As of November 2024, a White House briefing by President Joe Biden noted, more than 66,000 projects had launched throughout the country. Those include 196,000 miles of road repairs, 11,500 bridge repairs and 367,000 lead pipe replacements. As efforts continue forward under the law, economists anticipate the public construction sector will benefit from new projects and increased spending.
Cement Will Continue to See Increased Demand
As has been the case for a number of years, demand for cement is rising on the global scale. Statista notes that experts anticipate demand will grow by 2.4% each year from 2022 to 2026, reaching a worldwide demand of approximately 4.8 billion metric tons. Urbanization and large-scale infrastructure projects — not just in the U.S., but across multiple continents — are contributing factors to the growth.
Sustainable Building Efforts and Innovation Will Be Key
As crews everywhere grapple with unpredictability associated with extreme weather, economic shifts and the like, real estate and investment company Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) says adaptability will be important for success. Green building practices, already common, will continue taking hold, requiring crews to shift their thinking, materials and approach to projects. Of course, the concrete and cement industries’ ongoing efforts to curb CO2 emissions will also continue into the coming year.
Technological advances will impact future builds, as well — and on multiple levels. Not only does a growing demand for data centers mean heavier project loads for crews that cater to such work, but the way crews incorporate tech into their builds has evolved. Artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and even technological tools such as drone cameras have changed the way companies go about design and construction, and it’s a trend only expected to grow as time goes on. The JLL website offers a deeper look at the issues at play.
While no one knows exactly what the future holds, our industry’s experts put data to work in ways that aim to help crews like yours approach the coming year’s projects in a smarter, more strategic way. If you have questions about any of the above, or if you’re interested in learning more about how we can keep your fleet ready to roll with professional concrete chipping, silo cleaning and central mixer cleaning services, feel free to reach out to our team at any time. We’re here to help — and we look forward to hearing from you!