TOP NEWS
Martin Marietta Has Record Fourth Quarter; Full-Year
Martin Marietta Materials Inc. reported consolidated net sales of $780.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to $779.5 million in the previous year’s fourth quarter; and $3.3 billion for the full year, compared to $2.7 billion in 2014. Heritage aggregates business net sales were up 8 percent for the quarter and 8.2 percent for the full year.
Vulcan Reports Profits, Shipments Up; Costs Down
Vulcan Materials Co. announced results for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2015. The company’s fourth-quarter results demonstrate ongoing strong revenue growth and margin expansion as the gradual recovery in construction activity continues across most of its markets, the company said.
Rogers Group President to Receive Barry K. Wendt Award
The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association announced that Jerry Geraghty, president and CEO of Rogers Group Inc., will receive the Barry K. Wendt Memorial Commitment Award for his lifetime of service and leadership to the aggregates industry.
MSHA WATCH
A district court judge in Southern Ohio will hear arguments on April 12 on whether the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals should hear the case against MSHA’s Pattern of Violations (POV) rule brought up by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) and other associations. There are several substantial problems with the POV rule, most notably that it ignores the due process rights of mine operators by allowing MSHA to include un-adjudicated citations in its calculations for determining whether a mine deserves to be placed into Pattern status. Pattern status subjects a mine to closure and massive losses.NSSGA believes that these defects in the rule render the rule an MSHA power grab, while dismissing the Due Process rights of operators assured in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
USGS STATS
The estimated U.S. output of construction sand and gravel produced and shipped for consumption in the third quarter of 2015 was 291 Mt, a slight increase compared with that of the third quarter of 2014. The estimated production for consumption in the first nine months of 2015 was 702 Mt, an increase of 4 percent compared with that of the same period of 2014, said USGS Crushed Stone Commodity Specialist Jason Willett.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that construction spending during December 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,116.6 billion, 0.1 percent (±1.2 percent) above the revised November estimate of $1,116.0 billion. The December figure is 8.2 percent (±1.8 percent) above year-over-year. The value of construction for the full-year 2015 was $1,097.3 billion, 10.5 percent (±1.2 percent) above the $993.4 billion spent in 2014.
- The value of new construction starts in January grew 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $607.9 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Nonresidential building retreated slightly as increases for commercial building and manufacturing plant construction were offset by diminished activity for institutional building. The nonbuilding construction sector also retreated slightly in January, as modest improvement for public works was paced by a huge jump for highway and bridge work.
- Nationwide housing starts dropped 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.099 million units in January, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance edged down 0.2 percent.
ENERGY
- WTI CRUDE OIL FUTURES PRICE: 5/21/2015: $60.72/bbl, up $0.84 from week earlier; down $43.35 from year earlier.
- NATURAL GAS FUTURES PRICE: 2/23/2016: $1.782/mmBtu, down $0.121 from week earlier; down $1.097 from year earlier.
- RETAIL GAS PRICES: 2/22/2016: $1.730/gal., up $0.006 from week earlier; down $0.602 from year earlier.
- CRUDE OIL INVENTORIES: 2/19/2016: 507.6 mmbbl, up 3.5 mmbbl from week earlier; up 73.5 mmbbl from year earlier.
- WEEKLY COAL PRODUCTION: 2/13/2016: 13.202 million tons, up 0.331 million tons from week earlier; down 6.344 million tons from year earlier.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration