FLORIDA

I have been a professional economist for 37 years, and for all but five I have specialized in the North American cement, concrete, and stone industries. In 1979 I became the chief economist for the Portland Cement Association, the trade group for the American and Canadian cement industries. In 1986 I formed by own company, R.O.I. Economic Consulting, so that I could better serve building materials companies and people interested in them. The PCA was a great place to work as an economist, but there were restrictions on what I could discuss. For example, I was not allowed to talk about cement prices because of U.S. antitrust laws. Having my own independent firm freed me from these constraints and allowed me to expand my expertise to other building materials, including concrete, aggregates, gypsum, slag, and lime... While affected by national and international influences, construction and building materials are fundamentally local businesses. As they say about real estate, the three most..

Primary location: Tacoma United States