When COVID-19 first hit, and the nation shut down, it began a nightmare for the U.S. economy. And without question, the damage will take a long time to fix.
Industry pundits openly worried whether the fragile state of the national economy would spill over into the construction economy, with devastating results for aggregates producers. So it was with great trepidation that everyone awaited second-quarter results from the publicly traded companies – an industry barometer of extreme importance.
Second-quarter results are in, and guess what? The big aggregates producers had a damn strong second quarter. Thus far, the part of the construction economy that requires aggregates has held up.
- At Vulcan Materials, year-to-date aggregates segment sales were $1.938 million versus $1.897 in the first six months of 2019.
- At Martin Marietta Materials, despite a slight dip in revenue, aggregates shipments to the infrastructure market increased modestly. Aggregates shipments to the residential market increased, with notable growth, while shipments to the nonresidential market declined.
- Summit Materials Inc. announced record results for the second quarter 2020. For the three months ended June 27, the company reported net income attributable to Summit Inc. of $57.1 million compared to net income of $36.4 million in the comparable prior-year period.
- Eagle Materials Inc. reported record revenue of $428.0 million, up 15%.
- U.S. Concrete Inc. reported aggregate products revenue was $54.5 million, an all-time quarterly high, versus $49.5 million in the second quarter of 2019.
- MDU resources’ construction materials business had record second quarter revenues and earnings.
- Arcosa Inc. reported that total revenues increased 15% to $498.5 million in the second quarter. Construction materials revenues increased 28%.
- LafargeHolcim said its North America region delivered a remarkable performance with a Recurring EBIT up 20% for the first half of 2020 over the prior-year period on a like-for-like basis.
The latest report from Dodge Data and Analytics notes Highway work is up 4%. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that these positive trends continue.
Mark S. Kuhar, editor
(330) 722‐4081
Twitter: @editormarkkuhar