Cement prices could increase substantially within the next few years because of new regulations from the federal Environmental Proection Agency as well as the state of California’s regulations requiring substantial reductions in CO2and hazardous air-pollution emissions from domestic cement plants.
For now, the prolonged recession in the non-residential building markets continues to roll back prices. In July, the producers price index for cement fell another 1%, capping nearly a year of monthly declines, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for cement is currently 5.3% below the level of a year ago.