Need cement up north

The cement shortage is taking its toll in Canada, but not for the reasons you might think. "We've had a 20% increase in demand over last year," says Ron Sills of Lehigh Inland Cement Ltd. "It isn't that there's a shortage of cement; there's been an unpredictable surge in major construction projects." The $30-billion Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. project north of Fort McMurray is likely to gobble up a significant portion of Alberta's cement output for the foreseeable future, according to sources. "These mega projects use a lot of cement ... we can't just snap a finger and come up with 20% more product," Stills says. "We're already running 24-7, nearly all year." Nice problem to have -- but it's still a problem. Your comment?