Coming cement shortage bewailed

The five people who showed up Saturday at the Capitol to call for a solution to a cement powder shortage may have been a few weeks early.

"The severity won't be felt by the common worker for two or three weeks," said Cindy Collyer, manager of a construction company.

But the shortage is here and it's being felt in some places around the state, according to Dale Dellamas, president of the Utah Valley Homebuilders Association.

"It's sending people home who aren't able to work," Dellamas said.

The solution, he added, is either to lift a tariff on cement powder from Mexico or for the Environmental Protection Agency to allow for increased production of powder here.

Contractors want state regulators — expected to discuss the shortage this week — to allow for increased production at one Utah site, which has lived up to tougher EPA air quality standards, according to Leo Coleman, owner of a construction company.

In the past two weeks, Coleman said, he's been able to find enough cement mix for only two of five foundations at homes under construction.

Utah, however, isn't the only state feeling the pinch.

In July, it was reported that cement was in tight supply in 28 states, especially Texas, Florida and the South Atlantic, according to Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Portland Cement Association, based in Skokie, Ill.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., along with governors from South Dakota, New Mexico and Nevada, sent a letter in August to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, asking for help in lifting a 1990 tariff that restricts Mexican cement from crossing the border.

The governors told Gutierrez that market conditions have changed since the tariff was enacted, with demand for cement sharply up because of a U.S. housing boom, China's economic growth and rebuilding after hurricanes.

Collyer expects that by January 2006, cement prices will be at $100 per yard, up from about $65 a yard earlier this year. She has already seen evidence of price gouging.

Last year, the U.S. used 130 million tons of cement but produced only 100 million tons, creating a need for more imported cement. Not only is the price of cement up, but it's also harder to import supplies from cement-producing countries like Thailand and Mexico.

The result here — about 20 contractors and individuals waiting for cement trucks on a list that Geneva Rock dispatcher Lynnette Kerby brought to Saturday's rally.

"Have you noticed homes not getting done?" Kerby asks. "We all feel the ripples, in Utah and other states."

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com

Contributing: Associated Press