Cement consumption in 2014 made good gains in most market segments according to the Portland Cement Association's year-end survey. Of the 18 segments reported on, 13 saw increases of more than five percent year over year including a 19 percent rise in cement use for concrete brick and block, and manufactured stone.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. reports developing "geotechnical structural designs" of permeable pavers better suited to freeze-thaw conditions and subarctic climates than traditional permeable pavers.
https://tinyurl.com/qhbkyvc

Techo-Bloc acquired manufacturing facilities in Waterloo, Ind., and Rock Island, Ill. to give them the additional production and distribution needed to meet a growing demand for landscape products in the Midwest and Southern U.S. The North American manufacturer states that it will be making significant investments in technology at these plants and at a new distribution center in the greater Chicago area.

To simplify designing VERSA-LOK retaining walls, the company released a free, downloadable vendor data file that is formatted for use with SRWall 4.0 Design Software for Segmental Retaining Walls. Also, the National Concrete Masonry Association is offering a free, 30-day, fully functional trial version of the design software.
https://tinyurl.com/ccx6emk
https://tinyurl.com/q5pomqu

Alliance Designer Products announced a licensing agreement with Brock International for a new paver underlayment technology. The agreement will allow Alliance to produce and sell its Gator Base product to the professional hardscape market under Brock's patents.

A report from a two-year study on full-scale load testing of permeable interlocking concrete pavement by the University of California Pavement Research Center in Davis proposes reducing the subbase thicknesses published in ICPI's 2011 manual, Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements. The revised charts from UC Davis provide more cost-effective thicknesses.
icpi.org/node/4798