Ready-Mix Concrete Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029

The ready-mix concrete market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.39% during the forecast period.

Ready-mix concrete is concrete, that is manufactured in particular batches for specific quantities. This is transported to the usage site after the manufacturing of it. The mix consists of Portland cement, water, and aggregates such as sand, gravel, or crushed stone, based on the customer's requirements. The ready-mix concrete has multiple advantages such as, it can be obtained in small or large quantities of concrete as per the requirements and can be delivered timely at the site. The demand for storage is not required as it is directly delivered. The delays are reduced, hence no equipment to hire and no depreciation of costs. This is a highly versatile product with the best concrete placing methods. The lower consumption of cement is useful in the cost benefits and environmental pollution.

The major driving factors for the market are growing construction activities worldwide, increasing demand for infrastructure projects for growing economies, and other operational and economic benefits. The ready mix concrete is used in residential construction for foundations, driveways, floors, and walls. Further, it could also be used in the construction of office buildings, shopping malls, and parking structures.

• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become the world's greatest hotspot for infrastructural developments and investments in the world. With having US$1 trillion projects in the pipeline. One such large project is NEOM city having, center for various industries with facilities for renewable energy, biotechnology, and tourism. Another included the Red Sea Project for the luxury destination featuring pristine beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and diverse marine life. Qiddiya aims to offer massive entertainment and leisure facilities within the country. Additionally, ROSHN would be presenting a complete city experience in communities with the best-in-class facilities. Diriyah Gate Project, a UNESCO World Heritage site, would be focused on the historical site. Riyadh Metro would be the world's largest transport project in the world, with an area of 176km and 85 metro stations, this project alone costs US$23bn. All these projects give massive opportunities for infrastructural developments and investments within the country for future possibilities.
• Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world. The core of the project included the most important connections between major cities and nodes and must be completed by 2030. The extended core needed to be completed by 2040. This comprehensive network would connect all the regions of the EU and needs to be completed by 2050. By 2040, passenger railway lines must be able to support trains traveling at speeds of 160 km/h or faster. The major airports with over 12 million passengers must be connected to long-distance rail. Freight terminals would be expanded to meet traffic demands.

READY-MIX CONCRETE MARKET DRIVERS:

• Growing construction activities

The construction industry is growing worldwide as the growing economies of the world. The reason for the rapid growth in the construction industry is due to factors like growing urbanization, today about 55% of the world's population is living in the urban setup, and it is expected to increase to 68% by the year 2050, according to the United States. It is projected that by 2030, the world will have 43 megacities. As the world is growing it is urbanized, and sustainable development depends increasingly on the growing infrastructure and construction activities.

The growth explains the dynamics of the industry. This increase in the demand for construction would not only increase employability but also the overall demand for raw materials in the sector. The use of ready-mix concrete is essential for the strength, permeability, shrinkage, etc. The use of ready-mix concrete reduces the dust as it makes use of bulk concrete instead of bags of cement. Relative use of the fossil fuel consumed would be less thus air pollution is reduced.

• Increasing demand for infrastructure projects

Infrastructure projects like bridges, highways, dams, and tunnels can be developed using the ready mix concrete. The durability and strength of ready-mix concrete ensure that the structure can have heavy loads and adverse environmental conditions. In March 2023, Aamal Company Q.P.S.C., one of the leading companies of Qatar, announced that its fully-owned subsidiary, Aamal Readymix, had been awarded a contract by the Porr-HBk-Midmac consortium for the Wakra and Wukair drainage tunnel project. This project would have started in April 2023, with the company supplying ready-mixed concrete products, and will run for 18 months. This contract showcased the milestone in Aamal Readymix's journey at the forefront of Qatar's infrastructure development. Aamal Readymix has an annual production capacity of 600,000 cubic meters for ready-mixed concrete in Qatar. As of March 2023, Aamal Company Q.P.S.C. had a market capitalization of QAR 5.10 billion (US$ 1.40 billion).

The improvements in the present infrastructure and the making of new infrastructure needed raw material application and manpower demand. Ready-mix concrete not only provides many advantages but also offers economic and environmental benefits, making it a sustainable choice for infrastructure applications.

• Operational and labor benefits

Ready mix concrete is made from a combination of cement, fine and coarse aggregates, water, and admixtures. Ready-mix concrete is a specialized concrete for building and housing, that could have various options. The advantage of a ready-mix concrete plant is followed by having mechanized operations, the production obtained from a site-mix concrete plant using an 8/12 mixer is 4 to 5 metric cubes per hour which is 30-60 metric cubes per hour in a ready-mix concrete plant, this gives a productivity advantage for the material.

Another advantage of ready-mix concrete is the reduced consumption of cement by 10 - 12%. It is being replaced by other cementitious materials and admixtures to reduce the amount of cement. Further, ready-mix concrete manufacturing is likely to be less dependent on human labor, hence errors are reduced.

• Asia Pacific region to dominate the ready-mix concrete market during the forecast period.

The major economies are India, China, Japan, Korea, and Australia, which play a vital role in the rapid economic growth and industrialization in the region. Furthermore, countries of ASEAN, like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, are having fast economic growth in the region. This is taking increasing infrastructural development. The overall infrastructure development is taking place at a rapid pace owing to the projects like Belt and Road initiative by China.

India has a plan the spend US$ 1.723 trillion on infrastructure between FY24 and FY30. This is particularly focused on the power, roads, and developing industries like renewable energy and electric vehicles. In the aviation sector, the number of airports has reached 149, and Indian airlines have ordered more than a thousand new aircraft. FDI in construction development reached US$ 33.91 billion in March 2024.

The Infrastructure investment in Korea has been US$5,964 million for transport, US$2,746 million for water, for other infrastructure US$3,914 million, and US$1,806 million for Social infrastructure. This important investment lies in the various transformative outcomes of society.

Ready-mix concrete market challenges:

• High production costs are a major barrier to the growth of the ready-mix concrete market. Further, the transit time from the time of preparation of concrete to the delivery site is an important factor for consideration as it would affect the mixing of additional water or admixtures to maintain the feasibility of the product.

Ready-mix concrete market key developments:

• In July 2024, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, an industrial player committed to the decarbonization of the construction sector that designs and markets innovative clinker-free cement, announces the signing of a commercial partnership with Beton Controle de l'Estuaire (BCE), which produces a wide range of ready-mix concrete. This partnership is until December 2027, which would cover the supply of Hoffmann Green Cement's 0% clinker cement to BCE's network of ready-mix concrete plants, for the production of a wide range of concrete products and delivery in the Charente-Maritime region. Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies produces extremely low-carbon cement having a carbon footprint 5 times lower than traditional cement.
• In February 2024, Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd., India's fifth-largest cement group inaugurated the second state-of-the-art Ready-mix Concrete Plant (RMX) as Patna-II. Located in the Ranipur Milki Chak, Begampur, bypass. This plant marks Nuvoco's for providing top-quality building materials to the Patna region.
• In January 2024, Aggregate Industries, being a part of the Holcim group, acquired Eco-Readymix Ltd. This acquisition is beneficial for the north-west market in the United Kingdom. Eco-Readymix established sites in Wrexham and Ellesmere Port and the third to be opened in the Midlands. The company produces ready-to-use mortar and dry silo mortar for the national house builders, groundworkers, and civil engineering firms.
• In June 2023, Buzzi, a fully owned subsidiary of Dyckerhoff GmbH, reached an agreement to sell some of its businesses to CRH in Eastern Europe. CRH is a leading building materials solutions company. This is for a consideration of €0.1 billion. This agreement included the business in Ukraine and ready-mix concrete assets in East Slovakia. In Ukraine, Buzzi operated two integrated cement plants, in Rivne (in the North-West) and Mykolaiv (in the South). The group also operates in the ready-mix concrete sector in Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.

The ready-mix concrete market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Type

• Central Mixed
• Shrink Mixed
• Transit Mixed

By Application

• Residential
• Commercial
• Infrastructure
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• USA
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of South America
• Europe
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Rest of the Middle East and Africa
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific