Marketplace Program on National Public Radio Interviews Professor Gordon Hanson About Cemex
Excerpt:
Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., and that's led to a shortage of cement. And the largest cement maker in the country, a Mexican company called Cemex, is setting up shop. Dan Grech has more.
Dan Grech: Arizona needs cement. It's one of the fastest growing states in the country, which has led to shortages.
The new plant will produce 1.9 million tons of cement a year. That's almost the same amount Arizona currently brings in from Mexico and California.
Gordon Hanson's an economics professor at University of California San Diego. He says Cemex has transformed itself from a small Mexican firm to a global powerhouse. After forays in Europe and Asia, he says this new plant in Arizona is like Cemex building in their backyard.
Gordon Hanson: Cemex is not looking at the border as a dividing line between its markets. It's trying to serve the Southwestern U.S. market and the Northern Mexico market as a single entity.
Cemex will build its plant near Seligman, Arizona, population 800. Construction will last three years, and create 700 jobs.
Click here to listen to the story.



Sep 25, 2007



