Gypsum industry news

US: Georgia-Pacific has appointed Julie Howard as president of its Gypsum business. The position will require Howard to oversee 3000 employees across sites including 12 gypsum units across the US, producing 465Mm²/yr of wallboard.

Howard has served as Vice President and General Manager, Paper Towels and Napkins, since 2017, and previously served in management roles in various businesses since joining the company in 2007. Before that, she worked for chemicals company Solenis and asset management company GATC. She also served as a graduate assistant to the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she completed her Master’s in Business Administration. Howard holds a bachelor’s degree in German and International Studies, which she completed at Ohio University in Athens and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany.

US/Canada: The costs of construction of new single-family homes are set to rise by US$7500 – 10,000/unit, according to the National Association of Home Builders. This is due to the government’s introduction of a new 25% tariff on Canadian gypsum wallboard and its raising of the tariff on softwood lumber to the same level from 14.5%.

Australia/US: The value of James Hardie’s Australia-listed shares fell by 15% following the announcement of a deal to buy AZEK. Financial analysts have expressed concern that the company is overpaying for more access to a slowing US housing market, according to Reuters. Analysts from Morgan Stanley said that the deal carried "a heavy premium and elevated multiple.” They added that they expected the market would be wary of synergy savings targets.

James Hardie agreed to buy AZEK for US$8.75bn, using a combination of cash and shares, on 24 March 2025. As part of the deal it will take on AZEK’s net debt of US$386m. AZEK shareholders will receive US$26.5 in cash and 1.034 ordinary shares of James Hardie for each AZEKL share they own. Upon completion of the transaction, James Hardie and AZEK shareholders are expected to own approximately 74% and 26%, respectively, of the combined company. It is hoped that the deal will create a “leading exterior and outdoor living building products growth platform.” The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. It is subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and AZEK shareholder approval.

James Hardie manufactures fibre gypsum products in Europe and fibre cement products around the world. It is headquartered in Ireland, its management is based in the US and it is listed in both Australia and the US. AZEK makes exterior residential decking, siding, trim and moulding products. It is based in the US.

US: The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says that more than 71% of the US’ total annual imports of gypsum originate in Mexico. The association has highlighted the possibility of ‘scarcity and an acute, sustained rise in building materials costs’ as a result of new tariffs. The US government imposed 25% duties on products from Mexico and fellow North American country, Canada, on 4 March 2025.

NAHB said that it will ‘continue to seek a tariff exemption for building materials.’

US: Gypsum producers mined 22Mt of natural gypsum in 2024, according to the figures published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Production rose by 2% year-on-year from 21.5Mt in 2023. The USGS listed California, Iowa and Kansas as the top producers among 15 gypsum-mining states in the US in 2024. 45 different mines contributed to the total. Major domestic applications for the gypsum included use as raw materials in the country’s 3.16Bnm²/yr-capacity gypsum wallboard industry. The sector sold an estimated 2.6Bnm² of wallboard throughout the year, up by 4% year-on-year.

The US exported 45,000t of natural gypsum during 2024, up by 2% from 44,000t in 2024. Its imports declined year-on-year, meanwhile, by 4%, from 7.77Mt to 7.4Mt – 17% of a total domestic consumption of 44Mt.

US: National calcined gypsum prices were US$63/t in 2024, up by 5% year-on-year, Statista has reported. The figure more than doubled decade-on-decade from US$27/t in 2014.

Spain: The President of Galicia has called on the EU to protect the interests of its member states in anticipation of new US tariffs. Economía Digital News has reported that Galicia exported €32m-worth of gypsum plaster and stone in 2024. The US ranks 11th among the autonomous community’s export partners.

US: Georgia-Pacific has appointed its current President of Gypsum, David Neal, as Executive Vice President of Building Products, effective from March 2025. In his present role, Neal led a US$300m expansion to the group’s Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant in Texas. He previously served as Vice President of Operations, as Regional Operations Leader and in other sales and operations management roles since joining the company as a plant manager in 2004. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Neal succeeds Andy Konieczka who will retire. Konieczka has worked for Georgia-Pacific and its parent company, Koch, since 1992.

US: Eagle Materials raised its sales in the first nine months of 2024 to US$1.79bn – up by under 1% year-on-year. Its profit also grew by under 1%, to US$569m. In the group’s Light Building Materials business, gypsum wallboard sales were US$271m, up by 8% year-on-year.

President and CEO Michael Haack praised the growth in the face of ‘ongoing adverse weather’ conditions in the Midwest and Great Plains markets. He said “While the path to lower interest rates and improved home-buying affordability is less certain today, we remain optimistic about our businesses and our ability to execute on the opportunities in front of us. Steady employment, housing supply that remains chronically short and our cost-structure advantages continue to provide favourable conditions for our gypsum wallboard business.” He added “Our consistent, disciplined operational and strategic approach should position us to continue to perform well through economic cycles and deliver value over the long term.”

US: A court has ordered Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems to pay workers for withheld overtime wages after violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Due News has reported that the companies must each pay US$3.73m to a combined total of 1400 employees, along with a US$125,000 penalty to the US Department of Labor.