Cement Shortage Slowing Construction in Northwest

According to a survey released by the Portland Cement Association of Skokie, Ill., at least 23 states are having problems getting enough cement, according to a report in the Seattle Post-Intellegencer.

According to local media reports, the shortage has spread to the Northwest where homebuilders in Spokane, Wash., and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, report laying off workers because of delays in getting cement.

A recent building boom in China and rebuilding projects in South Asia from last winter’s tsunami are using up much of the cement that would have otherwise come to the United States, the Post-Intellegencer report.

Experts tell the paper that the mild winter in the Northwest has kept builders busy in a season where they would normally be stockpiling cement for the summer.