Publish Date: 9/22/2005

Cement rations slow projects

By Douglas Crowl

The Daily Times-Call

DACONO — Worldwide demand for cement is causing shortages and rationing and is stalling local projects.

Dacono’s ambitious road reconstruction project, for example, is being slowed because Lafarge Corp. can sell the city only 20 yards of concrete a week, Dacono Mayor Wade Carlson said.

“That’s not enough,” Carlson said. “We still have more that is ready for concrete work.”

The concrete, of which about 30 percent is cement, is needed for gutters and sidewalks, which get built before the city completes road reconstruction throughout the town.

Carlson said the work needs to get done before the snow flies, or the project will be delayed until next summer.

Firestone also is trying to juggle concrete projects for local trails and parks with an allocated supply of concrete.

“We had been able to continue to move forward, but it’s just at a slower pace than the concrete contractors can move,” Firestone spokeswoman Bridget Dalrymple said.

Ed Dvorak, director of marketing for Lafarge Corp., said the cement shortage is caused by both international and local factors.

He said China is buying up much of the foreign supply of cement that once came in abundance to the United States.

“That has put a lot more pressure on the domestic producers,” Dvorak said.

And it has set up the Front Range for shortages for more than a year.

“This still is a regional issue,” Dvorak said. “In the Front Range, it’s specifically due the two producers ... experiencing glitches in their production in the last three weeks.”

Lyons-based Cemex and Holcin are the only two companies mining cement material in limestone quarries on the Front Range.

They produce the majority of cement used in Colorado, but without foreign supplemental supplies readily available, any slowdown in production is felt in the region.

“We’ve been on a crux of a serious problem for over a year,” Dvorak said. “We’ve tried to warn our customers in the market that if there’s any glitch, we could be in a significant problem.”

Cemex and Holcin officials have stated publicly that local cement rationing is not due to production problems.

“Our plant is running at full capacity,” Cemex spokesman Rick Shapiro said.

However, he said production slowdowns are normal.

“Plants never operate perfectly all the time,” Shapiro said. “Our plant has operated fairly well. It’s just the tightness of supply and demand.”

He doesn’t see shortage problems ending any time soon, especially considering construction booms on the Front Range, and worldwide.

Rebuilding projects from Hurricane Katrina will probably increase demand and shortages, he added.

Douglas Crowl can be reached at 303-684-5253, or by e-mail at dcrowl@times-call.com.