René Muschter
Research Expert covering Industry & Mobility
The construction materials industry worldwide - statistics & facts
Most building materials must be processed to be used for construction. Steel is mainly produced from iron ore, coal, and other materials such as limestone or steel scrap. Afterwards, crude steel still has to be transformed into a final product that can be used for construction, for example, structural steel. Manufacturing cement is similarly complex, and even wood needs to be processed into lumber. These are the materials that, along with iron, formed the structure of most new homes in Japan, as well as in most other countries, although in differing distributions.
