Aggregate demand will remain strong

China, which is already the largest national market, will record some of the strongest increases, with its aggregate demand reaching 5.7 million metric tons in 2007, accounting for one-quarter of the global market. A number of other countries, including India, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, also will register strong sales gains, fueled by infrastructure construction activity and industrialization. These and other trends are presented in World Construction Aggregates, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industrial market research firm.

Demand for recycled aggregate products like crushed concrete and glass, secondary aggregates such as fly ash and slag, and mined materials like clay and shale will record the strongest gains through 2007. Advances will be spurred by environmental and land use concerns favoring recycled and secondary aggregate materials and by rising demand for specialty products such as expanded clay and shale, which are used in applications like bridge decks where light weight is of extreme importance.

Demand for construction aggregates used in the production of asphaltic concrete will rise faster than any other major application category, benefiting from continued growth in road building and maintenance spending. Sales of aggregate use in hydraulic concrete applications, which accounted for close to 40% of all product demand in 2002, also are expected to climb at an above-average pace.