TOP NEWS
Vulcan Materials
Vulcan Materials Co. announced results for the quarter ended June 30. Net earnings were $198 million, up 24%, and Adjusted EBITDA was $372 million, up 15% compared to last year’s second quarter.
Martin Marietta Materials Inc.
Martin Marietta Materials Inc. reported results for the second quarter ended June 30. Total revenues amounted to $1.279 billion versus $1.202 billion for the same period in 2018.
Summit Materials
Summit Materials Inc. announced that for the three months ended June 29, net income attributable to Summit Inc. was $36.4 million, or $0.32 per basic share, compared to net income attributable to Summit Inc. of $35.5 million, or $0.32 per basic share in the comparable prior-year period.
USGS STATS
The estimated U.S. output of construction sand and gravel produced and shipped for consumption in the first quarter of 2019 was 168 Mt, an increase of 3% compared with that of the same period of 2018, according to Jason Willett, crushed stone commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that construction spending during June 2019 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,287.0 billion, 1.3% (±1.2%) below the revised May estimate of $1,303.4 billion. Spending in the first half of 2019 was up sharply for most public infrastructure, with year-to-date increases of 14.5% for highway and street construction spending,
“Construction sand and gravel price escalation continue to diverge regionally. While prices are falling on a year-over-year basis in northeastern United States, they are increasing close to 7.5% year-over-year nationally. Prices rose in the Midwest due to the flooding in the region in May and early June; price escalation moderated slightly in the western United States,” said Deni Koenhemsi, senior economist at IHS Markit.
MSHA WATCH
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that on Wednesday, July 17, a 32-year-old general manager/owner was killed when he was struck by a hydraulic breaker. The victim and the excavator operator were in the process of positioning the excavator for a motor exchange when the hydraulic breaker attachment fell off the excavator and hit the victim.
ENERGY
- WTI Crude Oil Futures: 8/14/2019: $55.23/barrel, up $4.14 from week earlier; down $11.81 from year earlier.
- Natural Gas Futures: 8/14/2019: $2.143/MMBtu, up $0.060 from week earlier; down $0.816 from year earlier.
- U.S. Regular Gasoline: 8/12/2019: $2.624/gal., down $0.064 from week earlier; down $0.219 from year earlier.
- Retail Diesel: 8/12/2019: $3.011/gal., down $0.021 from week earlier; down $0.206 from year earlier.
- Electricity: 5/20/2019: Average price to industrial customers 6.71 cents/kilowatt hour; down from 6.82 cents/kilowatt hour from year earlier.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration