US: A court has dismissed a nationwide antitrust lawsuit against six companies accused of conspiring to fix the price of concrete additives since 2017. Reuters has reported that the court found that price hikes, though ‘extreme and consistent,’ were not consistent with coordinated activity.

Defendants BASF, Cinven Group, Mapei, RPM, Saint-Gobain and Sika control 80-90% of the US$3bn US concrete additives market. The judge said the purchasers can try to replead most claims.

The European Commission previously conducted surprise inspections at ‘several’ construction chemicals producers in October 2023. A US probe followed in May 2024.

South Korea: Full-year ready-mix concrete shipments are expected to drop by 18% year-on-year to 93Mm³ in 2025. Chosun Biz News has reported that the Sampyo Market Research Centre (SMRC) attributes the decline to ‘stagnant’ commercial construction and infrastructure project delays. The anticipated decline would correspond to a drop of 36% year-on-year from a 2021 high of 146Mm³. SMRC previously projected full-year 2025 shipments at 96Mm³, prior to the outbreak of a political crisis in the country in December 2024.

India: The Pune bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered J Kumar Infraprojects to cease operating its Thane concrete rail structures plant. The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported that the plant is situated inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and had been operating illegally. Non-profit organisation Vanshakti raised the issue via a filed petition.

New Zealand: A project at the University of Auckland to develop a novel, 90% reduced-CO₂ concrete using pumice and seashells has reportedly entered the last year of its eight-year duration. The project uses pumice from the Te Awara Māori confederation’s Bay of Plenty and Tongariro deposits and kaimoana shells from the Ngātiwai Māori nation’s Bay of Plenty and Coromandel aquaculture farms to partly replace cement in concrete. The pumice component is activated by drying and grinding, without requiring calcination. Following the commercial launch of the material, its developers will initially target applications like footpaths, curbs and non-structural elements.

The University of Auckland has reported that the project commands a US$218,000 Marsden Fund research grant.