The construction industry is on the cusp of recovery, and Ed Sullivan, vice president and chief economist for the Portland Cement Association, sees construction spending for the year closing out at 5.5% growth. What happens after that is quite dependent on whether we hit the "fiscal cliff," he said. Sullivan says if that is averted, construction spending growth will dip slightly in 2013 to about 5% and then "jump to 9.5% in 2014." He also sees a recovery of housing, commercial and public construction by 2014 and the possibility of gains in the double digits. 

What's that you say? Well, have a listen to Ready Mixed Concrete Association of Ontario president John D. Hull. "It isn’t concrete," he says. "It’s pavement. Or, what it used to be known as, no fines concrete." Calling it pervious concrete implies it can be mixed, laid and treated the same as concrete, he said, and that’s not only a misnomer, it’s a delusion.

Some of North Dakota's roads have taken a heavy beating since the oil boom and resulting truck traffic began in the Upper Midwest. The condition of some roads in the state forced transportation officials to look at economical, long lasting solutions. Enter whitetopping. The thickness of the concrete overlays range from 6 inches to 9 inches; the overlays are expected to have a lifespan of 20 years or longer outside the city of Williston.

Some news stories serve as veritable promotion pieces for the versatility and, yes, visual appeal of concrete. This September 8 story posted by www.northjersey.com begins, "People are pouring on the creativity and using concrete in new ways inside their homes. This durable material can reflect personal style and need not remain a cold, utilitarian, sidewalk gray. New decorative treatments can emulate a modern or rustic aesthetic, whether the concrete is an existing slab or has been freshly poured." Jamie Farny of the Portland Cement Association explains why many design-conscious homeowners are choosing concrete. Read more.

NRMCA producer member Titan America has begun a media campaign throughout the state of Florida aimed at educating residents on the choices, costs and ramifications of concrete vs. asphalt paving. Statistics show that more than 95% of highways in Florida are paved – and frequently repaired and repaved – with asphalt. 

"We are trying to create some general awareness in the marketplace with the concept of a long-term solution in concrete paving using Florida-based materials and companies as an investment in our infrastructure," explains Titan Senior Vice President of Cement and Aggregates Tim Kuebler. "It keeps the local tax dollars that fund these projects in the state of Florida and then recirculates them back into the local economy."

Kuebler said that virtually no one in Florida knows that the state does not contain any petroleum refineries, so much of the tax dollars spent on asphalt paving leaves the Florida economy and goes to other states or even other countries. Beyond that, asphalt companies are using a "disposable material that doesn’t last, forcing taxpayers to keep spending the same money over and over again to maintain the roads in lieu of spending it on other things like new roads, road expansions, education, police, fire, community parks, youth sports, etc."

Titan’s media campaign started when the company created a 3-person advocacy team in late 2011 that was charged with taking the concrete’s durability and economic message to the industry, the market, the state Department of Transportation and the elected officials as well as anyone "outside the industry fence that would listen," Kuebler said. "We started raising some public awareness about the issue so that when we talk to people, they have already started hearing bits and pieces. If we can make it matter to the voters, we can make it matter to the elected officials and they can enact change."

So far, Titan has scheduled a series of radio interviews (in one interview, NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Jon Hansen was interviewed on concrete vs. asphalt paving – click here to listen to the interview, which begins at about the 21/45 mark) that are scheduled to air 2-3 times per until the end of the year. The company also has a number of 30-second advertisements that play each month on an all-business news channel that reaches about one million listeners in the Southeast Florida market. In 2013, Titan plans to do at least 12 interviews and continue driving home the same message with even more advertising, Kuebler said.

It was recently reported that Louisville, KY, is the fastest growing heat island in the U.S. And the Kentucky Ready Mixed Concrete Association (KRMCA) isn’t taking the news lightly, notes NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge. KRMCA has partnered with local environmentalists in the Keep Louisville Cool initiative, a grassroots effort aimed at encouraging legislators to incorporate urban tree cover and cool pavements in Louisville.

According to Brett Ruffing, KRMCA technology and education director, the initiative includes a media campaign with two 30-second radio spots that inform listeners about the hazards of heat islands and directs listeners to www.keepcoolconcrete.org, the Web site dedicated to moving the message forward. A mass mailing was conducted to every elected official in Jefferson County, KY, to coincide with the airing of the radio ads. Ruffing introduced the program to the ready mix industry during the "What Works" session at this week's NRMCA ConcreteWorks conference in National Harbor, MD.

Also on the Web site is an e-letter for individuals to complete and send to their local officials, asking them to consider the Heat Island Effect in their planning. The site includes contact information for Louisville Metro Council Members and Kentucky state legislators.

NRMCA's September lineup of promotion-focused Webinars continues this week and next week with a pair of informative offerings, one focused on the advantages of concrete parking lots and the other on how and why ACI 330 has come to be known as the gold standard in concrete parking lot design. Click on the links below to learn more or contact NRMCA's Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

• Thursday, September 20 - Streets and Local Roads
• Thursday, September 27 - ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

The next in our series of online feature stories in the latest issue of NRMCA's quarterly magazine, Concrete InFocus, details the results of one of the Association's most popular and invaluable surveys: Fleet Benchmarking. Each year, the Operations, Environmental and Safety Committee crunches the data on maintenance costs, fleet age, fleet type and personnel levels for mixer truck fleets of member producer companies. This article is only offered in the online version of the magazine, which also includes other timely and informative articles to be highlighted here in E-NEWS in the next couple of weeks.

Nominations are being accepted for the 9th Annual NRMCA State Association of the Year Award. This award recognizes state or area/regional ready mixed concrete associations that make significant progress for the industry in the areas of promotion, education, advocacy and/or research.  The award will be presented at the 2013 NRMCA Convention, March 3-5 in San Antonio, TX. Nominations can be made by either a member company or the state association itself, with member endorsement. The deadline for nominations is Monday, December 10, so be sure to nominate your state association to receive national recognition for its efforts.

A host of publications have reported on presidential politics, transportation, infrastructure, regulation, heath care, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry. To access these articles for the week of September 10 - 14, please click here.

NRMCA's September Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, October 2, is the Pervious Concrete Construction Checklists. This publication provides forms and checklists that can be useful to the pervious concrete contractors and concrete suppliers on projects. Certified pervious concrete contractors or other individuals should use these forms and checklists and modify them as appropriate to local practice and to specific projects.  

September 20, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 27, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September, 27, Cambridge, MA

Annual MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Research Progress Update

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

October 2-5, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 4, Boise, ID

Northwest Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

October 9, Charlotte, NC

Lower Atlantic Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

October 19, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

October 23-25, Silver Spring, MD

Effective RMC Supervisor Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 1, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 2, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 5-9, Silver Spring, MD

Technical Short Course

Email: Karen Bean, 888-84-NRMCA, x1168

 

November 7, Jackson, MS

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

November 8, Madison, WI

Great Lakes Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

November 14, Little Rock, AR

South Central Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

November 16, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 27, Wilmington, NC

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

December 4-6, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 4-6, Orlando, FL

Environmental Professional Certification Course for the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 6, Las Vegas

Rocky Mountain Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 7, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 11-14, Denver

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 4, Boise, ID

Northwest Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 12, Silver Spring, MD

Atlantic Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 12-13, Doha, Qatar

International Concrete Technology Forum

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

2013

 

February 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 3-5, San Antonio, TX

NRMCA Annual Convention

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

March 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Sales Fundamentals

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

May 6-8, San Francisco

International Concrete Sustainability Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

May 12-15, Chicago

Fifth North American Conference on Design and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.