2025 Updated Production and Residential Stats for Tennessee

TCA regularly tracks concrete production in Tennessee via USGS cement shipment reports and we also track residential permit activity via information provided by Market Graphics. Cement shipment data has been updated through May of 2025 and here is what we know about 2025 through May.

Tennessee's 2025 production numbers have been running behind 2024 numbers since January, with the number showing around a 10% decrease from the same time period in 2024. May of 2025 showed a considerable improvement over May of 2024, with a 16% jump in volume for that single month. That was enough of an increase to cut the Year over Year production decline to 5% for the first five months of 2025. 

Tennessee's share of the national production of concrete has remained fairly constant at about 2.3% since 2021. By population, Tennessee accounts for about 2.1% of the US Population so our concrete production is above average on a per capita basis. 

We have residential permit data through the end of July, 2025. Market Graphics tracks permit activity in five areas: Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and Clarksville. I have listed these markets in order of total permits and the Nashville area generally accounts for about 50% of the total residential permits in the state, followed by Knoxville and Chattanooga at about 15% each, Memphis at around 10% and Clarksville at about 6%. 

So far this year permits are down by about 11.8% compared to 2024, and this is pretty consistent across all five markets listed above. For some context, the recent high water mark for permits was in 2021 with permits totaling 33,226 for that year. Permits dropped by about 11% in 2002, and another 6% in 2023 before bouncing back by over 8% in 2024 to once again climb above the 30,000 mark, coming in at 30,162 for 2024.