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Chicago Hosts Joint Spring Meeting
Nearly 200 member company personnel and PCA staff gathered at Chicago's Marriott O'Hare this week for the 2003 Joint Spring Meeting of PCA councils, committees, and task groups. Among meeting highlights:

• A three-hour workshop on upcoming sustainability road shows by the Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations kicked off the meeting on Sunday, March 16.
• Vince DeSimone, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, presented his take on the state of concrete construction in the high-rise arena at a lunch on Tuesday, March 18.
• At a dinner ceremony that evening, PCA presented the 2003 Promotion Progress Awards.
• And on Wednesday morning, PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan presented his preliminary spring forecast of construction and cement use.

Following the meeting on March 18-19, PCA's strategic planning committee embarked on its third round of meetings to craft a new three-year plan for the association. Complete committee reports are available as PowerPoint files by clicking on the following links.
Administrative Council
Government Affairs Council
Research and Technical Council
Market Promotion Council

Downturn Dings Cement Outlook
Construction spending may slip this year, but the drop will be short and leave cement use at historically high levels, says PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan in his preliminary forecast for cement and construction presented this week at the Joint Spring Meeting.

"Even though the outlook suggests a third consecutive year of decline, keep in mind that 2003 will still stand as the fourth best year in history," he said.

While signs of economic recovery are gaining strength, the real question is how fast it will unfold, according to a Flash Report issued yesterday summarizing the forecast. PCA believes that recovery will develop slowly. The forecast calls for mild declines in construction this year followed by gains in 2004. For cement, the outlook translates into consumption of 102 million metric tons this year, down from 104 million tons in 2002.
View or download the Flash Report
Contact Ed Sullivan or Dave Czechowski.

Top Promoters Honored in Awards Program
At a dinner ceremony at the Joint Spring Meeting this week, PCA recognized cement company personnel for outstanding achievements in promoting cement and concrete. The 2003 Promotion Progress Awards honored nine individuals from a field of 28 nominees for their work and dedication in expanding the use of cement in construction markets:

• John (Tim) Conway (Holcim) for his work in product standards and technology.
• Otto Nero (CEMEX) for his production of more than 100 videos enhancing promotion efforts and consumer awareness across all markets.
• John Seil (Hanson) for his efforts to promote insulating concrete forms and other residential products.
• Michael Hammer (Hercules) for introducing a number of innovative concrete paving solutions to the Northeast.
• Joel Kendig (CEMEX) for promotion of concrete building systems in the Dayton, Ohio, area.
• Robert Munro (Lafarge) for advancing concrete's role in sustainable development and green building in Canada.
• Tim Cost (Holcim) for his successful promotion of soil-cement and concrete paving in Mississippi.
• Ray Seipp (Signal Mountain) for his work in promoting a number of cement and concrete paving products in the Southeast.
• Peter Deem (Holcim) for promotion of concrete pipe.

Entries are judged by a panel of marketing executives from PCA member companies. Winners receive a plaque and figurine commemorating the award.
Contact Lionel Lemay.

Report Assesses the Economic Impact of War
PCA economic research issued a flash report today outlining the impact of war on the US economy and construction markets. The report identifies two scenarios: 1) a quick and clean war with few downstream issues; and 2) a lengthy campaign with significant casualties and multiple downstream issues.

A quick and clean war would accelerate an economic recovery for the US, but would not necessarily translate into an immediate increase in construction activity. In a domino reaction to a swift and smooth campaign against the Iraqi regime, consumer sentiment would improve, raising consumer spending, translating to increased manufacturing, therefore increasing investment spending and ultimately improving construction activity as a whole.

On the other hand, Sullivan suggests a lengthy campaign with unacceptable casualties will produce a recession. With few federal policy tools left, a simple impetus for recovery would be difficult and the economy would likely take at least one year to return to the crossroads of recovery the country is at today.
Download the Flash Report.
Contact Ed Sullivan of Dave Czechowski.

Industry Allies Meet With Corps Researchers
PCA and representatives from the National Precast Concrete Association, Expanded Slate, Clay, and Shale Institute, Insulating Concrete Forms Association, and the Tilt up Concrete Association met with key researchers at the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory in Vicksburg, Miss. The purpose of the meeting was to provide the Corps with information on off-the-shelf concrete wall systems and the potential for collaborative research on how these wall systems would react to explosive blasts. All parties agreed on the potential benefits of joint research and that further discussions were warranted.
Contact John Sullivan.