USGS Releases New Mineral Yearbook Data on Crushed Stone

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released advance data tables for its Minerals Yearbook chapter “Stone, Crushed.”  In 2017, 1.33 billion tons of crushed stone valued at more than $15 billion was produced by an estimated 1,400 companies operating 3,700 quarries and 187 sales/distribution yards in 50 states.

While crushed stone production was about 1.33 billion tons, a slight decrease compared with that of 2016, apparent consumption decreased to about 1.39 billion tons.

Leading states were, in descending order of production, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana, which together accounted for more than one-half of the total crushed stone output. 

Of the total domestic crushed stone produced in 2017, about 70 percent was limestone and dolomite; 13 percent, granite; 6 percent, traprock; 5 percent, miscellaneous stone; 4 percent, sand stone and quartzite; and the remaining 2 percent was divided, in descending order of tonnage, among marble, volcanic cinder and scoria, calcareous marl, slate and shell.

It is estimated that of the 1.39 billion tons of crushed stone consumed in the United States in 2017, 76 percent was used as construction material, mostly for road construction and maintenance; 11 percent for cement manufacturing; 7 percent for lime manufacturing; 4 percent for other chemical, special, and miscellaneous uses and products; and 2 percent for agricultural uses.

Demand for crushed stone was lower in 2017 because states along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast were affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which led to decreased demand and production in these areas.

Long-term increases in construction aggregates demand will be influenced by activity in the public and private construction sectors, as well as by construction work related to security measures being implemented around the nation. 

The underlying factors that would support a rise in prices of crushed stone are expected to be present in 2018, especially in and near metropolitan areas.

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