The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has required Taiheiyo Cement Corporation and CalPortland Company to divest assets as a condition of moving forward with their acquisition of ready-mix concrete assets from Vulcan Materials Company. Although the matter did not produce a court opinion, it is a notable enforcement action in a sector that sits at the center of public infrastructure, commercial development, and residential construction.

The government’s intervention underscores a familiar antitrust concern: consolidation in highly local markets for essential building materials.