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…
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Inflation drives construction aggregates toward $30 billion
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff 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 just-released U.S. Geological Survey figures. The estimated 2.54 billion mt of construction aggregate volume represents a 5 percent year-over-year gain.…
Read MoreCalifornia cement producers tie carbon neutral operation to sound policies
A California Nevada Cement Association (CNCA) roadmap envisions three major pathways for the industry to attain net zero carbon operation by 2045: reducing production process emissions, reducing combustion emissions through fuel switching, and increasing distributed electricity generation. With 11.8 million metric tons’ clinker and 11.45 million metric tons’ grinding capacity in California (per USGS 2017 data), CNCA members can reach…
Read MoreInterior Department scientists define climate change projection limits
A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey—the indispensable source of portland cement, crushed stone and sand & gravel shipment data—stresses the need to factor uncertainties attending climate change predictions, especially as models link present greenhouse gas emission levels to earth temperature trajectories through the year 2100.
Read MoreU.S. Geological Survey reveals limits of climate change projections
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior; CP staff A new report from the USGS—the indispensable source of portland cement, crushed stone and sand & gravel shipment data—stresses the need to factor uncertainties attending climate change predictions, especially as models link present greenhouse gas emission levels to earth temperature trajectories through the year 2100.
Read MoreCrumbling foundations spawn agency’s pyrrhotite-prone aggregate tracing
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed the first map of rock deposits exhibiting the potential to contain or form pyrrhotite, whose presence in otherwise ASTM C33 aggregate can prove extraordinarily deleterious in concrete. The map is part of a new fact sheet, “Pyrrhotite Distribution in the Conterminous United States,” publication of which abides a Congressional directive addressing widespread residential foundation failure cases in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Read MoreNortheast foundations catastrophe spawns USGS pyrrhotite reference
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed the first map of rock deposits exhibiting the potential to contain or form pyrrhotite, whose presence in otherwise ASTM C33 aggregate can prove extraordinarily deleterious in concrete. The map is part of a new fact sheet, “Pyrrhotite Distribution in the Conterminous United States,” whose publication abides a Congressional directive addressing widespread residential foundation failure cases in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Read MoreSand & gravel production, use survey measures concrete prevalence
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff
The annual USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries estimates 2019 construction sand & gravel production at 970 million metric tons, valued at $9 billion and extracted from 6,830 sites operated by 3,870 companies. In order of decreasing tonnage, the lead states for production were Texas, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, Ohio, New York, Utah and Colorado—accounting for upward of 55 percent of total U.S. output.
Read MoreUSGS confirms 2018 cement, sand & gravel, stone shipment gains
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff
Surveys from the federal agency closest to the construction materials supply chain indicate that portland and blended cement, sand & gravel and crushed stone producers closed 2018 with respective year-over-year shipment gains of 3 percent, 7 percent and 4 percent.
Read MoreProducer fragmentation higher in sand & gravel than crushed stone
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff
Top 20 sand & gravel and crushed stone producer rankings from USGS Commodity Specialist Jason Willett show strong contrasts in market concentration and operational scale. Producers on the just-released sand & gravel ranking accounted for 30 percent of shipments in 2016, the most recent year for which consolidated figures are available. For the same period, the agency’s crushed stone ranking showed a) the top 20 producers responsible for 743 million mt or 55 percent of the 2016 U.S. output; and, b) the top 100 operators shipping 1.02 billion mt of crushed limestone and granite, or 75 percent of industry deliveries.
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