Aggregate Industry Trends in 2025: Green Transformation, Intelligent Upgrading and New Global Market Pattern

1. Green mine construction is accelerating, and policies are promoting sustainable development of the industry

In 2025, environmental protection policies continue to tighten around the world. China, the European Union, the Middle East and other regions vigorously promote the construction of green mines, and the sand and gravel industry transforms towards low-carbon and environmental protection. China's "14th Five-Year Plan for Mineral Resources" is further implemented, requiring sand and gravel companies to improve resource utilization, reduce dust and noise pollution, and promote photovoltaic + mining, wastewater recycling and other models. Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" also increases support for sustainable building materials, driving the growth of demand for high-end machine-made sand in the Middle East.

2. The proportion of machine-made sand continues to increase, and high-quality aggregates become the mainstream of the market

As natural sand resources become increasingly scarce, the proportion of machine-made sand used in construction and infrastructure has exceeded 75%. In 2025, high-quality machine-made sand will become a rigid demand in the market, and companies will have higher requirements for technologies such as crushing, shaping, and grading optimization. The sales of equipment such as vertical shaft impact crushers and high-efficiency cone crushers will increase significantly. At the same time, the high value-added utilization of sand and gravel aggregates (such as for 3D printing buildings and high-performance concrete) has become a new growth point in the industry.

3. Intelligence and digitalization reshape the sand and gravel production model

The in-depth application of 5G, AI and Internet of Things technologies will drive the sand and gravel industry to upgrade to a "smart factory". By 2025, leading domestic companies will have achieved unmanned operation of the entire crushing production line, optimized equipment operating efficiency through big data analysis, and reduced energy consumption by 10%-15%. Overseas markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa are also accelerating their intelligent transformation, and the export volume of intelligent crushing and screening equipment manufactured in China has increased by 20% year-on-year.

4. The global infrastructure boom has led to a differentiation in demand for sand and gravel

Chinese market: A new round of "dual-use" infrastructure construction and urban renewal projects has driven the demand for sand and gravel. The sand and gravel production capacity in the central and western regions has been gradually released, and regional supply and demand have tended to be balanced.

Overseas markets: The Middle East (Saudi Arabia's NEOM new city, Qatar World Cup follow-up projects), Southeast Asia (construction of Indonesia's new capital) and India's infrastructure expansion have driven a surge in demand for sand and gravel imports and localized production.

5. Industry integration is accelerating, and the advantages of leading enterprises are highlighted

Against the backdrop of rising environmental, capital and technical barriers, small gravel yards are gradually withdrawing from the market, and large building materials groups (such as Conch Cement and Huaxin Aggregates) are expanding their market share through mergers and acquisitions. By 2025, the CR10 (concentration of the top ten companies) of China's gravel industry is expected to exceed 40%, and the industry will enter a new stage of large-scale and intensive development.

Looking ahead

The core keywords of the sand and gravel industry in 2025 are **"green, intelligent, and globalized"**. With the improvement of the carbon trading mechanism and the application of new energy technologies, sand and gravel companies will seek new opportunities in reducing emissions and increasing efficiency, and intelligent equipment and cross-border cooperation will become the key to seize the market.

——【Industry Observation】April 7, 2025