Florida Antitrust parties settle prior to appellate court action

Sources: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta; Staff reports After nearly 30 months, plaintiffs and defendants appear to have closed a case alleging a price-fixing and market allocation conspiracy among four Sunshine State producers with integrated cement and ready mixed operations. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals filings throughout February cite a settlement of undisclosed terms; they…

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Despite Improvement to Economy, Foreclosures continue to drag down housing starts, prices despite economy improvements

Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. Home foreclosures decreased dramatically in 2011, but industry experts are cautioning that this is not a reflection of improvements in the housing market, but a result of legal, process and “robo-signing” issues. At the 2012 International Builders’ Show in Orlando recently, Ed Sullivan, chief economist for PCA, said that the 1.9 million foreclosures reported…

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Cement Totals—December & Year-End 2011

Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico were about 4.8 million mt in December 2011, according to the USGS. This was 16 perfect higher compared with shipments for December 2010. Total shipments for 2011 were approximately 72.2 million mt, up 3.0% compared to year-end 2010.

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