Amrize Bets on ‘Made in America’ Label to Cement Market and Carbon Gains

Amrize, the nation’s largest cement producer, is making a $700-million wager {that a} new “Made in America” label can do greater than stir patriotic attraction. 

Launching Nov. 13 at flagship vegetation in Missouri and Texas, the corporate says the certification will guarantee home manufacturing, broaden U.S. capability and assist cut back the carbon footprint of certainly one of development’s most emission-intensive supplies.

Amrize’s new “Made in America” label certifies its cement merchandise are manufactured totally within the U.S. utilizing domestically sourced supplies.

Picture courtesy of Amrize.

“We’re seeing demand from infrastructure, information middle and manufacturing tasks the place verified home content material is now a part of the worth equation,” stated Jaime Hill, president of Amrize Constructing Supplies. “The ‘Made in America’ label helps prospects know they’re sourcing from a producer that meets U.S. requirements finish to finish.”

Amrize plans to increase the label throughout 13 U.S. vegetation, beginning with amenities in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.; Midlothian, Texas; Satan’s Slide, Utah; Holly Hill, S.C.; and Portland, Colo. 

The rollout coincides with upgrades including about 760,000 tons of annual manufacturing, together with a 660,000-ton growth at Ste. Genevieve—North America’s largest cement plant—and $50 million in modernization work at Midlothian.

“Our label gives prospects confidence that their product complies with U.S. efficiency requirements whereas supporting jobs, group and financial development,” stated Patrick Cleary, Amrize’s senior vp for U.S. industrial cement. “We see a transparent alternative to strengthen partnerships that worth verified sourcing.”

Amrize’s Ste. Genevieve, Mo., facility—the most important cement plant in North America—is present process a 660,000-ton growth as a part of the corporate’s $700-million “Made in America” funding program.

Picture courtesy of Amrize.

The U.S. cement and concrete sector contributes more than $130 billion yearly to the financial system and helps about 600,000 jobs, in response to the American Cement Affiliation. Nationwide shipments reached roughly 105 million metric tons in 2024, with imports supplying about 23% of whole demand—valued at almost $16 billion.

Though the brand new label echoes “Purchase America” sentiment, cement itself stays exterior Federal Freeway Administration domestic-content mandates. 

FHWA guidelines that took effect Oct. 1 start phasing in U.S. manufacturing and element thresholds for manufactured merchandise below federally funded tasks, however cement will not be but coated.

“For the 5 flagship vegetation the place we’re launching the label, we’ve verified the origin of all uncooked supplies by way of a full provide evaluation,” Cleary stated. “Meaning from the quarry to the kiln to the mill, each stage is home.”

Hill stated this system additionally carries financial weight. “Every ton we produce regionally sustains expert commerce work and cuts dependency on imported clinker,” she stated. “We’re investing forward of IIJA-funded demand to make sure dependable provide for private and non-private builders.”

A number of states, together with California and Colorado, have adopted Buy Clean standards that issue carbon emissions into materials procurement. That convergence between sourcing coverage and emissions disclosure may give Amrize’s label extra traction.

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Materials Sourcing and Carbon Footprint

Amrize’s “local-to-local” logistics mannequin reduces supply distances, a rising consider embodied-carbon accounting. That connection between native manufacturing and emissions drew cautious endorsement from Kari Yuers, chair of the American Concrete Institute’s Chemical Admixtures Committee and president of Kryton International.

U.S. cement shipments rose steadily from 2020 to 2024, reaching about 105 million metric tons, whereas import share climbed to 23.5%, in response to U.S. Geological Survey information.

Chart by ENR

“In the event you decrease transportation distances, you naturally decrease embodied carbon,” Yuers advised ENR. “However it’s just one piece of the puzzle. We want parallel strikes—electrification of transport, alternative-fuel kilns, 1L cements, carbon-capture pilots—to truly transfer the needle.”

She added that verification issues as a lot as intent. “Labels are worthwhile in the event that they’re verifiable,” she stated. “With out clear information on embodied-carbon depth, a domestic-content label dangers turning into simply one other advertising declare.”

Producing cement clinker by heating limestone and clay in kilns is probably the most energy-intensive facet of making Portland cement. Clinker is the important thing product the place the chemical response takes place and is accountable for almost all of the environmental emissions related to producing cement, which is ultimately utilized in concrete. 

Contractors and state transportation businesses can confirm domestic-content claims and environmental disclosures by way of Federal Commerce Fee labeling guidelines and ASTM-compliant Environmental Product Declarations. 

Such documentation is more and more required in materials procurement scoring and Purchase Clear reporting frameworks from federal authorities, ACI and different standards-making our bodies.

Decarbonization and Trade Outlook

The corporate’s funding push consists of process-efficiency upgrades, digital monitoring and groundwork for lower-carbon fuels. It has additionally begun constructing a fly-ash beneficiation plant in Virginia to reclaim landfilled ash as a supplementary cementitious materials—a key step in offsetting clinker emissions.

Many U.S. concrete producers buy fly ash from abroad as a result of lack of coal-fired energy vegetation within the U.S., making imports from Europe or coal-friendly nations obligatory. That offer chain was disrupted not solely throughout the pandemic but in addition throughout extra recent shortages of the coal byproduct as a consequence of heavy demand for mission-critical amenities.

“Beneficiated fly ash and calcined clay could make an actual dent in carbon, however entry and allowing are limiting elements,” Yuers stated. “We want regional provide options so contractors aren’t ready months for various supplies.”

Yuers stated Portland-limestone cement, recognized in business requirements as Kind 1L, can decrease CO₂ depth by 10–15% with out compromising structural efficiency when combine designs are correctly adjusted. “They’re the quickest near-term win,” she stated. “They’re confirmed and prepared if the market calls for them.”

Amrize views its modernization program as an funding in future flexibility. Every growth incorporates superior controls to enhance effectivity, with vegetation being ready for various fuels and lower-carbon processes as expertise matures, Cleary stated.

Cement manufacturing accounts for roughly 71 million metric tons of CO₂ a yr—about 4.4% of U.S. industrial greenhouse-gas output, in response to EPA and Clear Air Job Pressure information. 

With development exercise anticipated to rise by way of 2030, producers are going through growing strain from homeowners and transportation departments to doc life-cycle carbon reductions by way of Environmental Product Declarations.

“Home manufacturing and low-carbon manufacturing don’t need to be separate objectives,” Yuers stated. “If corporations like Amrize align each, they’ll redefine what ‘Made in America’ means for the subsequent era of infrastructure.”

For Amrize, the label positions the corporate the place home sourcing and carbon discount objectives converge.

“We’re not altering industrial phrases, however we’re strengthening reliability,” Cleary stated. “Contractors can plan figuring out their materials isn’t crossing oceans—it’s produced, licensed and delivered by folks in their very own states.”

Whether or not the initiative turns into a verified aggressive commonplace—or just savvy branding—will depend upon information the business has solely begun to measure.

— Jeff Yoders contributed reporting to this story.