Construction aggregate producers closed 2021 with shipments totaling 1.54 billion metric tons (mt) of crushed stone and 1 billion mt of sand & gravel, valued respectively at $19.6 billion and $10 billion, according to U.S. Geological Survey figures. The estimated 2.54 billion mt of construction aggregate volume represents a 5 percent year over year gain. Annual shipment values in USGS…
Read MoreMonth: April 2022
Construction coalition counters project labor agreement scheme
The Associated Builders and Contractors, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and 13 other industry organizations—collectively representing tens of thousands of companies and millions of employees—oppose a recent White House move to require government-mandated project labor agreements (PLA) on federal or federally assisted construction contracts. “We applaud the administration’s leadership to improve and build new roads, bridges, schools, affordable housing and…
Read MoreInspector resistance proves futile for “Show Me State” aggregate operator
A federal district court judge issued an injunction to prevent Missouri’s Partridge Sand & Gravel Inc. from stopping Mine Safety and Health Administration representatives from completing workplace inspections. The action addresses an August 2021 incident where owner Westley Partridge used loading equipment filled with rock and dirt to force MSHA inspectors’ vehicle off the road, then verbally harassed them before…
Read MoreFoundation boosts US Brick employees’ quest to decertify Teamsters local
The National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation Inc. is assisting employees at US Brick Holdings’ Mooresville, Ind. clay brick and mine operation in their pursuit of a National Labor Relations Board-administered vote to decertify Teamsters Local 135, Indianapolis, as collective bargaining representative for the site’s 33-member unit. Based in Springfield, Va., the Foundation has filed a Request…
Read MorePCA informs federal government of industry decarbonization realities
Federal policy is vital to accelerate deployment of technologies that can curtail industrial sector carbon dioxide emissions, Portland Cement Association asserts in response to the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office’s (AMO) “Request for Information on Industrial Decarbonization Priorities.” Absent strong support from Washington, D.C., an AMO timeline to reach carbon neutrality across industry is unrealistic due to technical,…
Read MoreShining the Light on Precast
A solid financial case can be made to use precast concrete more broadly in projects. Decades ago, some bright guy built his own septic tank with forms, casting the concrete structure first and then installing it. His neighbors asked if he could help them do that, too. Boom. Precast as we know it was born. Modern precast is critical infrastructure,…
Read MoreA Look at the Pressures on Our Booming Economy
As a firm, we bristle with optimism. Yes, sometimes it gets tempered when things aren’t going so well in our industry or the economy as a whole, but those setbacks tend to be short-lived. Of course, we missed the timing on what turned out to be a painfully long Great Recession, which will go down in the history books as…
Read MoreCement, concrete, and carbon conversation turns to intellectual honesty and plausibility
A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) survey of cement and concrete production builds on U.S. General Services Administration measures, noted here last month, to guide federal construction procurement policy toward lower embodied carbon levels in finished structures. Along with the Departments of Defense and Transportation, General Services stands to favor material or product specifications backed by carbon data presented in…
Read MorePacific Steel awards main contract for $350M California rebar mill
Sources: Pacific Steel Group, San Diego; CP staff Pacific Steel Group anticipates an early-2025 start for a 380,000 ton/year rebar mill in Mojave, Calif., integrating the facility with its fabrication and installation businesses. The company has awarded a contract to Pennsylvania-based Danieli Corp. to build an advanced MIDA Hybrid micro mill, potentially powered by adjacent solar arrays. With four North…
Read MoreHardscape installers report banner 2021
Sources: Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, Chantilly, Va.; CP staff Gross 2021 sales for concrete paver contractors in the United States and Canada increased 27 percent year over year, according to a new Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute survey. The 2022 ICPI Contractor Industry Report reflects trends based on responses from 177 segmental concrete pavement professionals surveyed by Columbus, Ohio-based market researcher…
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