Assessment of the state and development prospects of building materials industry of the region

The article substantiates the promising directions of the region’s building materials industry development (the case of the Vologda Oblast) by assessing its current state. In the context of shifting the gravity center of solving the country’s socio-economic problems to the regional level, the role and importance of the industries ensuring the implementation of the regional development structural priorities is growing. One of these sectors is construction where building materials occupy the largest share in the cost of production. An assessment of this sub-industry’s development showed that today a course to reduce the cost of one square meter of housing by increasing the volume of commissioning of economy-class housing has been set. This is achieved mainly by reducing the area of apartments and increasing the number of storeys. Manufacturers note the high cost of building materials as one of the main constraints to the construction industry development. In a transition economy, government and management should plan and set development trends based on the current market situation. The main market trends in the field of building materials are low price, environmental friendliness, energy efficiency, safety and reliability, labor saving during construction. Today, in the Vologda Oblast, the construction marketis in a relatively depressed state due to the incorrect management decisions of state authorities. In this situation, building materials manufacturers need to strengthen the diversification of their industries. In the Vologda Oblast, it is economically feasible to create new manufactures of local building materials based on the raw material base including production wastes. The article discusses innovative building materials some of which are selected as the most recommended for production in the Vologda Oblast.