<p>Currently, concrete production surpasses that of all other engineered materials by over threefold, with production approximately 20 times greater than steel and 40 times greater than solid-wood products. Meeting this material demand can lead to localized resource scarcity, degradation of ecosystems and human health burdens. Concrete is produced mostly from local resources, and the flows are not monitored well, making it difficult to quantify and reduce consumption. Here we determine the mineral, energy and water resources consumed to produce concrete worldwide, including resource wastage. Our results show that 30 Gt of mineral, energy resources and water resources were used directly to make concrete and other Portland cement-based products in 2019; however, when including losses of resources due to hidden flows (for example, a function of resource composition), inefficiencies (for example, energy conversion) or requirements in the supply chain (for example, water for processes), we find that 66 Gt of these resources were consumed, suggesting existing estimates drastically underestimate resource consumption in global concrete production. Understanding this hidden resource consumption is essential for developing mitigation strategies and policies to reduce the environmental and resource-use burdens of concrete production.</p>