PCA Extends Ad Program to State and Local Officials

Beginning in April 2013, PCA is running its national paving advertising campaign in Governing magazine. The monthly publication reaches more than 80,000 state, county, and municipal government officials. The circulation by level of government consists of 38 percent city/town, 33 percent state, and 22 percent county.

The move reflects PCA’s focus on local advocacy in support of policy issues backed by research findings from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub.

PCA will run a combination of print and website ads.

The ads for concrete paving feature the work of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub on life-cycle cost analysis and the importance of using real costs for sound government investment.

The ads are a continuation of the ongoing campaign and Think Harder imaging/branding initiative with attention-getting layouts and an aggressive presentation of the campaign themes of durability and economy. The ads also appear in Better Roads, ENR, Public Works, and Roads & Bridges magazines.
View a PDF version of the April issue
Contact Bruce McIntosh

PCA Spring Hotel Deadline Approaching

The hotel reservation deadline for the 2013 PCA spring committee and board meetings is April 8. The PCA spring committee and Board meetings will be held April 28-30, 2013, at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill.  Meeting registration is also available.

In addition to meetings of most committees of PCA's Research and Technical Council and Market Promotion Council, meeting highlights will include a group breakfast presentation by Cary Cohrs, PCA chairman of the board, and Greg Scott, PCA president and CEO.  The 2013 Sustainable Manufacturing Awards will be presented during a group luncheon on April 29.  The CTLGroup Board and Government Affairs Council and its committees will also meet.

The deadline for hotel reservations and meeting registration is April 8.
View a complete program
Register for the meeting online
Contact Kristi Tarantino

Scott to Keynote 2013 ICMA Conference

Greg Scott, PCA president and CEO, will be the keynote speaker at the 35th International Conference on Cement Microscopy, April 28- May 1, 2013, in Rosemont, Ill.  The annual conference is sponsored by the International Cement Microscopy Association.

This year will feature the panel discussion “Application of Microscopy in Relation to Energy Consumption in Cement Plants.”  In addition, there will be presentations on practical applications, new techniques, and latest research efforts in the field of microscopic evaluation of portland cement and related materials.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the PCA and CTLGroup facilities in Skokie, as well as several famous landmarks and architectural buildings of the City of Chicago such as the John Hancock Tower, Water Tower Place, and Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).
Register at www.cemmicro.org

Non-Traditional Paving Grows 36 Percent

North American portland cement consumption grew at 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter 2012 against the same period in 2011, with both the U.S. (4.6 percent) and Canada (7.6 percent) contributing to the quarter’s gains. 

Non-traditional paving (SC/RCC/FDR), a segment among the forefront of PCA’s promotional efforts, recorded year-end growth in excess of 36 percent.  The ready-mixed concrete segment finished the year nearly 6 million metric tons higher than volumes in 2011.  Other year-end 2012 market leaders included precast concrete (12 percent), prestressed (10 percent), and packaged product producers (8 percent). 

Fourth quarter growth adds to ample annual gains.  The U.S. ended the year with a 9 percent expansion in portland cement consumption, which reflects burgeoning economic momentum.  PCA has recently upwardly revised its baseline cement projection and growth rate forecast for each cement user group.  These adjustments represent not only diminishing political uncertainties but also more optimistic assessments of the labor market, consumer sentiment, and pent-up demand in both households and businesses.

PCA’s Survey of Portland Cement by User Group provides end-user cement tonnage for eighteen individual segments.  Historical data tables and graphs detail segment performance.  In addition, current year segment forecasts and summary analysis, linked to PCA’s latest national forecasts, are provided.
Contact Brian Schmidt

Free Tutorials Offered at 2013 IEEE-IAS/PCA

The 55th Conference, IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference, April 14-18 in Orlando, Fla., will offer free pre-meeting tutorials to all attendees.

Scheduled for Monday, April 15, topics include mercury basics, network communications in cement plants, medium voltage adjustable speed drives, transformer failures, and an MSHA safety training course.

In addition, Al Linero, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will be addressing the impact of NESHAP on the cement producers in Florida on Wednesday morning, April 17th. Linero is with the Office of Permitting and Compliance in the Florida DEP.

The world’s premier cement conference, IEEE-IAS/PCA, will include presentations from the industry’s top technical people, addressing the diverse technical issues and proposing potential solutions to the many challenges facing the cement industry.
Register at www.ieeepcaconference.org
Contact Rick Bohan

Industry Rallies for Transportation Funding

Two-hundred supporters rallied at the Iowa State Capital in support of proposed transportation funding last week.  The day kicked off with a press conference featuring the latest TRIP report on Iowa roads and bridges, and included speeches by Farm Bureau, Iowa Motor Truck Association, and Iowa Association of General Contractors (AGC) chapter.  The TRIP report cited 42 percent of Iowa’s major roads and highways as being in mediocre or poor condition, and 22percent of the state’s bridges as being structurally deficient.  Revenue shortfalls and the critical need to improve Iowa infrastructure were cited by all presenters.

The transportation funding proposal includes a $.10 gas tax and other fee increases; it would generate an additional $215 million annually.  This proposal, the second half of TIME21 funding package passed in 2007, has been delayed due to economic conditions.  The gas tax has not increased in Iowa since 1989. 

Rally participants, including representatives from Continental, Lafarge, and PCA called on individual legislators to discuss the merits of the proposal and ask for support.  AGC contractor members were in attendance along with the ready-mixed concrete and concrete paving industries.  Coalition and grassroots advocacy efforts will continue through the session as bill details are negotiated and a final vote taken.
Contact Doug Burns

Obama Pushes For Infrastructure Plan

During a visit to the Port of Miami last week, President Obama urged Congress to take up his proposals to improve the nation’s “raggedy” infrastructure, with a combination of public and private investment.

He said that restoring neglected bridges, roads, and other infrastructure could spur economic growth with minimal government spending.

Expanding on ideas from this year’s State of the Union address, Obama proposed a series of tax breaks and loans to stimulate private investment. Among other things, new “America Fast Forward Bonds” would help state and local governments borrow money for projects, while foreign pension and retirement funds would have a tax penalty eliminated so they could invest in infrastructure in the United States on a similar basis as American funds. Grant programs that were part of the president’s stimulus program would be expanded by $4 billion.  Obama also promoted an infrastructure bank that would use $10 billion in public money to leverage private investment.

Obama’s visit highlighted a massive tunnel project underway at the port that has employed more than 500 people during the last three years and attracted federal, state, and private capital.