Concrete and the IIJA

By Gavin Jenkins, Senior Managing Editor

As of today, while Las Vegas hosts another World of Concrete, there are 253 days remaining until the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires on Sept. 30.

Here are facts that can’t be disputed:

• Since President Joe Biden signed the IIJA into law in 2021, the law has created demand for concrete in America, thanks to massive federal transportation spending. Furthermore, the long-term funding from this law gives states and agencies more ability to plan work, which stabilizes demand for concrete producers compared with the boom–bust cycles of short-term bills.
• The IIJA has created tens of thousands of jobs for workers across America who specialize in concrete projects.

Given these facts, advocates and professionals in the concrete side of the roads and bridges construction industry should reach out to representatives in Congress and urge them to reauthorize this law.

Many in the industry believe the reauthorization is coming. They believe that, like most things with our leaders in Washington, D.C., it will happen at the last minute in September.

The IIJA was a complex law over 1,000 pages, and it had several controversial aspects regarding the environment, unions, and buying materials in America. It’s a miracle it got passed.

Waiting until the last minute puts the law in danger. Industry advocate groups and industry leaders need to press now, so disagreements over wedge issues can be ironed out.

While World of Concrete is being held in Las Vegas this week, what are America’s leaders working on? Are they fighting with President Donald Trump about how to fix Venezuela or whether or not to take Greenland, threatening the existence of NATO?

Meanwhile, how many bridges are in poor condition in this country? How many roads need maintenance work? How many public works departments are stretched to their limit?

This isn’t about partisan politics. This is about the roads and bridges construction industry standing up for American infrastructure and putting pressure on politicians to do what’s right.

There is a lot of money at stake. And while there’s no public government statistic that isolates concrete industry revenue from the IIJA alone, we can connect the dots:

• Ready-mixed concrete prices have risen since 2016, reflecting higher demand, including infrastructure work. This suggests significant revenue growth stemming from heightened demand, including IIJA-funded projects.
• The level of federal highway/bridge activity supported by the IIJA is one of the strongest demand drivers in the economy — and concrete is a direct materials provider.

Though one cannot point to an exact dollar amount beyond industry estimates, it’s safe to say that the IIJA has materially increased concrete revenues over what they would have been without the law, especially when compared to the relatively slower paced 2015–2020 federal spending environment.

During that five-year span, Federal highway and bridge work was funded at lower annual levels (FAST Act-era), resulting in significantly lower annual concrete demand tied to federal projects.

This is an estimation, but the IIJA has likely increased concrete volume demand by tens of millions of cubic yards per year compared to 2015–2020.

According to the Portland Cement Association, the IIJA was expected to require approximately 52 million tons of cement, with around 39% of that going to roads, bridges, and other major projects, which directly translates into huge volumes of concrete.

World of Concrete is a celebration of the equipment, technology and best practices of this material that is vital to America’s roads and bridges. Next year’s World of Concrete won’t be as cheerful if the IIJA isn’t reauthorized.

This week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, every serious conversation about the state of the industry should include people talking about the IIJA’s reauthorization.