World construction aggregates demand to reach 21.7 billion metric tons in 2007

China -- which is already the largest national market -- will record some of the strongest increases, with its aggregates demand reaching 5.7 million metric tons in 2007, accounting for one-quarter of the global total. A number of other countries -- including India, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey -- will also 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.

The nonresidential building market for construction aggregates is expected to be the fastest growing end use segment. Increases will be driven by renewed strength in nonresidential building construction activity in developing parts of the world as industrialization efforts intensify. However, nonbuilding construction will continue to represent the biggest single market for aggregates, accounting for more than two-thirds of worldwide demand in 2007.