© Image from BigStockPhoto.com

Cement and concrete additives keep on trucking around the world.

Global demand for cement and concrete additives is expected to increase six per cent annually to $16.2 billion by 2012. The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland, Ohio-based market research firm, notes this projection represents a modest deceleration from gains posted between 2002 and 2007, a period in which a worldwide construction boom drove increasing demand for cement and associated additives.

Gains are anticipated to stem from greater use of chemical and fibre additives in concrete construction not only in Canada and the United States, but also Asia and Eastern Europe.

Freedonia forecasts demand for chemical and fibre additives will grow most rapidly, due to their benefits and increasing acceptance. Strong gains for cement and concrete additives are predicted in the Asia/Pacific region, which holds fast-growing cement markets such as India and China. Despite North America's relatively mature cement industry, above-average gains in additive demand are expected to be driven by a stronger focus on durable concrete and mineral waste products.

Freedonia reports its findings in the study, World Cement & Concrete Additives.