UK: CRH subsidiary Tarmac has urged the government to raise the vehicle gross weight limit for four-axle rigid vehicles in order to support the electrification of construction transport. Current gross vehicle weight (GVW) limits of 32t disproportionately affect payload capacities for electric vehicles fitted with lithium ion batteries, which weigh 2 – 4t, according to the concrete producer.

Logistics director Ben Garner said "Battery energy density is improving – which means a longer range for lower battery weight – but, for now, electric mixers remain best suited for urban deliveries, where they can charge at depots or batching plants between runs. For longer routes, or sites without high-power charging, the payload compromise is still a significant challenge. If we want to encourage widespread adoption of decarbonised transport solutions in construction, we have to make allowances – either by increasing the limit, or allowing the introduction of five-axle vehicles that are in common use across many European countries.”

Installer News has reported that Tarmac recorded a 42t/yr reduction in CO₂ emissions using an electric ready-mix concrete mixer truck instead of its diesel equivalent.

US: Ready-mix concrete producer Elite Concrete has agreed to settle a case over alleged historical price-fixing for US$750,000, MLex News has reported. Global Concrete previously reported that Elite Concrete was subject to a claim over purported price-fixing in Georgia and South Carolina in 2010 – 2016.

India: Ready-mix concrete from Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society's Vizhinjam Nettathani ready-mix concrete plant in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is now certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). BIS’s dual certification confirms conformity to the IS/ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System standard and the IS 4926:2003 standard for ready-mix concrete.

Brazil: A new study has found that ready-mix concrete is more cost-effective than concrete mixed on construction sites in Brazil. Ready-mix concrete costs US$69.2 – 118/m³, while mix-on-site concrete costs US$54.6 – 100/m³. However, the findings showed that costs arising from material loss, mix design errors, hardened leftovers, increased reworking times and reduced productivity when mixing concrete on site more than exceeded the difference in prices for projects above 20m³ in total concrete consumption.

In one investigation completed under the study, builders poured a 27m³ slab of concrete in one hour using ready-mixed concrete, and another in 12 hours using mix-on-site concrete, Petróleo e Gás News has reported.