TOP NEWS
Vulcan Materials Acquires Polaris
Vulcan Materials Co. reached a definitive agreement to acquire Polaris Materials Corp., an aggregates and logistics company that serves key California markets from strategically situated operations in British Columbia, Canada.
ACG Materials Acquires Diamond Gypsum
H.I.G. Capital announced that ACG Materials has acquired Diamond Gypsum Co. Located in Watonga, Okla., Diamond Gypsum is a leading miner of gypsum products sold into various oil and gas, infrastructure and agricultural applications.
U.S. Concrete Aggregates Sales Up 8.3 Percent
U.S. Concrete Inc. reported results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. In the second quarter of 2017, the company reported a net loss of $2.3 million compared to a net loss of $3.5 million in the second quarter of 2016.
MSHA WATCH
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced that – for the third consecutive year – none of the nation’s more than 13,000 mining operations meets the criteria for a Pattern of Violations notice. The screening period started on July 1, 2016, and ended on June 30, 2017. The POV provision in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is one of MSHA’s toughest enforcement tools. The agency reserves the provision for mines that pose the greatest risk to the health and safety of miners, particularly those with chronic violation records.
USGS STATS
An estimated 261 metric tons of crushed stone was produced and shipped for consumption in the United States in the first quarter of 2017, a slight decrease compared with that of the same period of 2016. The revised estimated annual output produced for consumption in 2016 was 1.36 billion tons (Gt), a slight increase compared with that of 2015. This was previously reported as 1.37 Gt.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
The value of new construction starts in July advanced 6 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $728.1 billion, reported Dodge Data & Analytics. Leading the way was a 26 percent jump by the nonbuilding construction sector. Highway and bridge construction increased 10 percent.
Construction spending during June 2017 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,205.8 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $82.4 billion, 6.6 percent (±6.7 percent) below the revised May estimate of $88.2 billion.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in July fell 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units from an upwardly revised June reading, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
ENERGY
- WTI crude oil futures price: 8/25/2017: $47.87/barrel, down $0.64 from week earlier; up $0.54 from year earlier.
- Natural gas futures price: 8/25/2017: $2.892/MMBtu, down $0.001 from week earlier; up $0.046 from year earlier.
- Weekly coal production: 8/19/2017: 17.025 million tons, up 0.556 million tons from week earlier; up 1.861 million tons from year earlier.
- Natural gas inventories: 8/18/2017: 3,125 Bcf, up 43 Bcf from week earlier; down 223 Bcf from year earlier.
- Crude coal inventories: 8/18/2017: 463.2 million barrels, down 3.3 million barrels from week earlier; down 29.8 million barrels from year earlier.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration