The World of Concrete trade show held in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Friday shows good signs that home construction in the United States is projected to climb and more investment in infrastructure from the U.S. government is expected.

The World of Concrete show is the only international show in the industry which has attracted 1,300 exhibitors and over 50,000 attendees from different parts of the world. More exhibitors and attendees have been seen from China offering products and technology.

Steven Pomerantz from the press office of the trade show told Xinhua Wednesday that while statistics on how many international attendees and exhibitors won't be available till the end of the show, his personal impression is that more people are attending and more are optmistic about the future in the construction field.

"You will see more smiling faces and that shows people are more confident about the future," said Pomerantz.

Not only more companies from other countries have sent their representatives to the show, more U.S. companies are seeking opportunities to outreach to the foreign market through the show, according to Pomerantz.

He said the World of Concrete has been selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce to participate in the International Buyer Program and that in the past seven years, more U.S. companies have joined the program to open their products to foreign countries.

Pomeranatz said he is pleased to see more Chinese companies have sent their representatives to the show, which will provide them with the opportunity to access the U.S. market.

To promote export of U.S. products, the World of Concrete show has compiled an export directory, and 96 U.S. companies have been listed in the Asia category, which shows more U.S. companies are targeting the Asian market, including China.

Construction industry also serves as a barometer of the country's economy. The climbing of construction will turn the whole economy up.

Edward Sullivan, chief economist of Portland Cement Association, projected at the trade show Tuesday that single-family home construction in the United States will climb to 443,000 this year, a 3.26 percent increase from 2011.

The Mortgage Bankers Association in the United States is projecting 474,000 home starts in 2012, the National Association of Realtors pegs the number at 480,000 and the National Association of Home Builders is most optimistic at 495,000 starts.

"The only reason anyone builds a home is the prospect of making money. You can't make money if there's too much inventory out there and prices continue to decline," said Sullivan.

Some 768,000 metric tons of concrete will be used for single-family home starts this year, Sullivan predicted. Overall, cement consumption will remain at less than 70 million metric tons this year, with 5 percent gains in 2013 and 2014.

Gary Brown of Toronto-based AMVIC Building Systems told the press that he's seeing "little ticks here and there" that show the economy is starting to rebound. The custom-home market, where people have money, is picking up, he said.

According to Brown, the housing industry has been in a severe downturn for the last few years, but there are some positives that come out of it.

"Homeowners and builders are forced to look at how to build," he said. "Oil costs and heating costs are going up. People need to look at how to build residential or commercial property that's energy-efficient and sustainable, that they can afford to pay for heating and air conditioning and it isn't going to get blown away when a tornado or hurricane comes around."

According to Sullivan, nonresidential construction is also starting to find the floor. He said he was surprised by a double-digit percentage gain in retail construction.

However, Sullivan remains pessimistic in his commercial construction forecast. Office vacancy exceeds 15 percent nationwide, forcing lower lease rates. Higher office employment equates to lower vacancy rates, he said.

"Jobs, jobs, jobs. That will determine the growth rate in the economy and also shorten the healing process," Sullivan said. "The more jobs, the more recovery at the state level, the more construction spending."

Steve Guillaume, vice president and general manager for International Truck and Continental Mixer, told the press here that he'd like to see the U.S. Congress act on the federal highway bill, though he said it will be difficult to see anything happen before the presidential election.

The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a six-year, 235 billion-dollar highway bill, while the U.S. Senate has suggested a two-year, 109 billion-dollar measure.