Hydraulic Cement (including Portland, natural, and Puzzolan cements)
Cement is a manufactured product made from limestone (or marl) and clay (or shale). Sometimes these two kinds of substances are so combined in nature (as in certain clayey limestones) that they are available for cement manufacture without artificial mixing. It is not our purpose in this volume to discuss manufactured products; but the cement industry involves such a simple transformation of raw materials, and is so closely localized by the distribution of the raw materials, that a mention of some of its outstanding features seems desirable.
Hydraulic cement is used almost exclusively as a structural material. It is an essential ingredient of concrete. Originally used chiefly for the bonding of brick and stone masonry and for foundation work, its uses have grown rapidly, especially with the introduction of reinforced concrete. It is being used in the construction of roads, and its latest use is in ship construction.
With the exception of satisfactory fuels, the raw materials required for the manufacture of cement are found quite generally throughout the world. While practically all countries produce some cement, much of it of natural grade, only the largest producers make enough for their own requirements and as a result there is a large world movement of this commodity. The world trade is chiefly in Portland cement.
Next to the United States, the producing countries having the largest exportable surplus of cement in normal times are Germany and Great Britain. France and Belgium were both large producers and exporters before the war, but the war greatly reduced their capacity to produce for the time being. Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Japan, and Switzerland all produce less extensively but have considerable surplus available for export. Italy and Spain have large productions, which are about sufficient for their own requirements. Holland and Russia import large amounts from the other European countries. The far eastern trade absorbs the excess production of Japan. In South Africa and Australasia, production nearly equals demand. In Canada, although the industry has been growing very rapidly, the demand still exceeds production. In South and Central America, Mexico and the West Indies, the demand is considerable and will probably increase; production has thus far been insufficient. Several modern mills are either recently completed or under construction in these countries, and concessions have been granted for several others. These new mills are largely financed by American capital.
The United States is the largest single producer of cement in the world, its annual production being about 45 per cent of the world's total. Domestic consumption has always been nearly as great as the production, and exports have usually not exceeded 4 per cent of the total shipments from the mills. South and Central America offer fields for exportation of cement from the United States.