Sources: National Stone Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), Alexandria, Va.; CP staff
NSSGA is spotlighting a recent Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Industry Scorecard series study concluding that each aggregates site position supports nearly five other jobs beyond the gate, while annual stone, sand & gravel sales are compounded almost fivefold when measured throughout the economy.
In “The Economic Impact of the Natural Aggregates Industry: A National, State, and County Analysis,” Phoenix Center President Lawrence Spiwak, Esq. and Chief Economist George Ford, PhD affirm, “The aggregates industry exerts a sizable influence on the U.S. economy. In addition to the direct employment [of 61,000], quarry industry economic activity is associated with an additional 297,275 jobs for a total employment effect of 358,317. Extending the analysis to the employment of entire aggregates industry, economic contribution is nearly 600,000 jobs.”
“The industry’s $6.1 billion in earnings (payments to labor and proprietors) ripples through the economy to create an additional $25.6 billion in earnings, for a total of nearly $32 billion in earnings,” they continue. “Including multiplier effects, the aggregate industry’s $27 billion in sales drives nearly $122 billion in total sales.”
Aggregates Industry Scorecard employment and economic metrics, NSSGA notes, enable limestone and granite producers to show their businesses’ tangible benefits when interfacing with community stakeholders and neighbors, especially during the permitting process.