# Building materials

Stratum 1 · First transformations

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/

Stratum 1 · First transformations

## Building materials

Quarries rock, sand and clay and turns them into cement, concrete, bricks, tiles, glass, gypsum board and finishing products for construction. The world made about 3.8 billion tonnes of cement in 2025, about 45% of it in China (1.7 billion tonnes) and India a distant second at about 470 Mt (USGS estimates; share calculated). Cement and concrete are heavy, cheap per tonne and sold within a few hundred kilometres, so markets are regional, and cement production accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions (Chatham House).^[1](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-cement.pdf)

**India.** India has about 670 Mt a year of cement capacity (FY2025, Cement Manufacturers' Association), and the two leaders, UltraTech (over 186 Mt domestic) and the Adani group (over 100 Mt including Ambuja), hold roughly 43% of it (calculated from 2025 figures that are not all at the same date). India makes only about 28% of China's tonnage (calculated), so housing and infrastructure demand gives a long growth runway while consolidation lifts pricing power^[1](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-cement.pdf)^,^[2](https://indiancementreview.com/2025/09/16/adanis-strategic-emergence-in-indias-cement-landscape/).
 Depends on 0 of 35 industries · 0 directly Relied on by 15 industries, directly or indirectly Enterprise types 10 in 5 stages Chokepoints 0 rated 5 of 5 Size about 3.8 billion tonnes of cement produced worldwide (USGS estimate) 2025

## [Where ₹100 of building materials output goes](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/cost-mix/)

Where ₹100 of building materials output goes Every rupee of sales is paid out to someone along the chain. This splits ₹100 of output by who finally receives it, so you can see how exposed the industry is to commodity, chemical and energy prices. Commodities ₹13.9 Chemicals ₹1.2 Energy ₹18.8 Wages…

## [Price links with supplier industries](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/price-links/)

Price links with supplier industries How the industries this one buys from shape its prices: the share of its costs they make up, and how their prices have moved together. Tap a row for the charts. Hover or tap ? for what each measure means. Supplier industry Cost share Raw-material mix…

## [Follow one offering through the chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/story/)

Follow one offering through the chain 1 Example story · 6 steps · India A 50 kg bag of cement Follow limestone from a quarry through a kiln and a grinding mill to a dealer's stack of bags. 1 / 6 · Quarrying and raw materials Limestone blasted from a captive quarry 450 Mt limestone mined in India…

## [Value chain, from upstream to the customer](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/value-chain/)

Value chain, from upstream to the customer Criticality to the chain: 5 · Chokepoint 4 · Critical 3 · Important 2 · Supporting 1 · Commodity service Stage 1 Quarrying and raw materials Limestone, aggregate and sand quarry operators 2 · Supporting Hold mining leases and extract limestone for cement…

## [What the whole chain draws on](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/materials/)

What the whole chain draws on Every commodity, chemical and energy tile named by the enterprises above; ×n shows how many of them depend on it. Open any tile for its full detail. Commodities (19) Stn Crushed stone ×3 Kao Kaolin & clays ×3 Gyp Gypsum ×3 CaO Lime ×2 St Steel ×2 Fs Feldspar ×2 Cem…

## [Chokepoints and risks](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/risks/)

Chokepoints and risks Carbon cost: cement production accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions, much of it from calcining limestone, so carbon pricing and border taxes are the largest long-run risk 3 . Fuel exposure: kilns run largely on imported coal and petcoke, tying costs to global coal…

## [Sources](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/sources/)

Sources Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Cement US Geological Survey, 2026 Adani's strategic emergence in India's cement landscape Indian Cement Review, 2025 Why cement is a major contributor to climate change (explainer for Making Concrete Change) Chatham House, 2018

## Relationship cards

- [Construction and infrastructure](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-construction-and-infrastructure/): Construction is the market for cement, concrete, bricks and glass, so building material makers live on the building cycle: housing takes about 69% of India's cement and infrastructure about 21%, and building material prices follow construction activity with a lag of about a quarter. *(researched)*
- [Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-energy-intensive-industry/): Cement and glass are energy-intensive industries in their own right: kiln and furnace heat is most of their energy use and energy is about 30% of cement manufacturing cost, so fuel prices move their margins directly. *(researched)*
- [Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-natural-gas/): Gas is the kiln and furnace fuel for tiles and glass, over 30% of ceramic input costs at Morbi in 2022, so a gas shock, such as the 2026 Hormuz disruption that shut most Morbi kilns for about six weeks, hits output and prices at once. *(researched)*
- [Data centres and cloud](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-data-centres-and-cloud/): Data centres and cloud buys from Building materials; data centres and cloud depends on building materials.
- [Electrical equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-electrical-equipment/): Building materials buys from Electrical equipment; building materials depends on electrical equipment.
- [Finance: banking, insurance, markets](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-finance-banking-insurance-markets/): Building materials buys from Finance: banking, insurance, markets; building materials depends on finance: banking, insurance, markets.
- [Machinery and equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-machinery-and-equipment/): Building materials buys from Machinery and equipment; building materials depends on machinery and equipment.
- [Metal products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-metal-products/): Building materials buys from Metal products; building materials depends on metal products.
- [Paper and packaging](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-paper-and-packaging/): Building materials buys from Paper and packaging; building materials depends on paper and packaging.
- [Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-plastic-and-rubber-products/): Building materials buys from Plastic and rubber products; building materials depends on plastic and rubber products.
- [Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-transport-and-logistics/): Building materials buys from Transport and logistics; building materials depends on transport and logistics.
- [Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/): Building materials buys from Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft; building materials depends on vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft.
- [Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-waste-and-recycling/): Building materials buys from Waste and recycling; building materials depends on waste and recycling.
- [Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-water-and-sanitation/): Water and sanitation buys from Building materials; water and sanitation depends on building materials.
- [Acrylic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/acrylic-acid-and-building-materials/): Building materials depends on acrylic acid.
- [Ammonium nitrate](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonium-nitrate-and-building-materials/): Building materials depends on ammonium nitrate.
- [Boilers, furnaces and stoves](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/boilers-furnaces-and-stoves-and-building-materials/): Building materials depends on boilers, furnaces and stoves.
- [Cement](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-cement/): Building materials depends on cement.
- [Chromium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-chromium/): Building materials depends on chromium.
- [Combustion road vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-combustion-road-vehicles/): Building materials depends on combustion road vehicles.
- [Construction chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-construction-chemicals/): Building materials depends on construction chemicals.
- [Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-crude-oil/): Building materials depends on crude oil.
- [Crushed stone](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-crushed-stone/): Building materials depends on crushed stone.
- [Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-distribution-grids-mini-grids-and-interconnectors/): Building materials depends on distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors.
- [Electric motors and drives](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-electric-motors-and-drives/): Building materials depends on electric motors and drives.
- [Explosives and propellants](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-explosives-and-propellants/): Building materials depends on explosives and propellants.
- [Feldspar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-feldspar/): Building materials depends on feldspar.
- [Gas pipelines and city gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-gas-pipelines-and-city-gas/): Building materials depends on gas pipelines and city gas.
- [Gypsum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-gypsum/): Building materials depends on gypsum.
- [Hydrogen](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-hydrogen/): Building materials depends on hydrogen.
- [Iron ore](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-iron-ore/): Building materials depends on iron ore.
- [Iron oxide pigments](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-iron-oxide-pigments/): Building materials depends on iron oxide pigments.
- [Kaolin & clays](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-kaolin-and-clays/): Building materials depends on kaolin & clays.
- [Lime](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-lime/): Building materials depends on lime.
- [Nitrogen gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-nitrogen-gas/): Building materials depends on nitrogen gas.
- [Organic pigments](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-organic-pigments/): Building materials depends on organic pigments.
- [Paints and coatings](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-paints-and-coatings/): Building materials depends on paints and coatings.
- [Perlite](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-perlite/): Building materials depends on perlite.
- [Polyurethanes (MDI, TDI, polyols)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-polyurethanes-mdi-tdi-polyols/): Building materials depends on polyurethanes (MDI, TDI, polyols).
- [Sand & gravel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-sand-and-gravel/): Building materials depends on sand & gravel.
- [Silica sand](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-silica-sand/): Building materials depends on silica sand.
- [Silver](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-silver/): Building materials depends on silver.
- [Soda ash](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-soda-ash/): Building materials depends on soda ash.
- [Starch and cellulose derivatives](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-starch-and-cellulose-derivatives/): Building materials depends on starch and cellulose derivatives.
- [Steam turbines and thermal power plants](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-steam-turbines-and-thermal-power-plants/): Building materials depends on steam turbines and thermal power plants.
- [Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-steel/): Building materials depends on steel.
- [Steel plant energy recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-steel-plant-energy-recovery/): Building materials depends on steel plant energy recovery.
- [Styrene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-styrene/): Building materials depends on styrene.
- [Talc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-talc/): Building materials depends on talc.
- [Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-thermal-coal/): Building materials depends on thermal coal.
- [Tin](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-tin/): Building materials depends on tin.
- [Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-titanium-dioxide/): Building materials depends on titanium dioxide.
- [Waste-heat power (steam Rankine)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-waste-heat-power-steam-rankine/): Building materials depends on waste-heat power (steam Rankine).
- [Waste-to-energy](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-waste-to-energy/): Building materials depends on waste-to-energy.
- [Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-water/): Building materials depends on water.
- [Zirconium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-zirconium/): Building materials depends on zirconium.

## Other sections

- [Where ₹100 goes](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/cost-mix/index.md)
- [Price links with suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/price-links/index.md)
- [Example story](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/story/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/value-chain/index.md)
- [Materials drawn on](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/materials/index.md)
- [Chokepoints and risks](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/risks/index.md)
- [Sources](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/sources/index.md)