TOP NEWS
Canadian Standards Amended
Two years after passing revisions to the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA), and six months after consultations began with the industry, the Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF) posted amendments to the ARA Regulations and Standards.
Mulzer Awards Students
Mulzer Crushed Stone announced five 2020 high school graduates as recipients of the Neil Mulzer Memorial Scholarship. The scholarships provide a one-time $500 grant to children of full-time employees who attend approved post-secondary education.
TRIP Report Sounds Alarm
As the U.S. Interstate Highway System reaches 64 years old, it faces increasing congestion, unprecedented levels of travel – particularly by large trucks – and insufficient funding to make needed repairs and improvements.
MSHA WATCH
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that on Aug. 18, a miner was killed at H.J. Hove, Riverside, Calif., while attempting to clear a material blockage. The miner entered a cone crusher to begin work when the material shifted and engulfed him. He was extracted from the crusher and taken to a hospital, where he died the next day. This is the 13th fatality reported in 2020, and the second classified as “Fall of Material.”
USGS STATS
An estimated 660 million metric tons (Mt) of total construction aggregates was produced and shipped for consumption in the United States in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 3% compared with that of the second quarter of 2019, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Commodity Specialist Jason Willett.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Total construction starts rose 19% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $793.3 billion. Gains were seen in all three major building sectors: nonresidential building starts rose 16% and residential building climbed 12%, while nonbuilding construction jumped 40% over the month.
- Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose to its highest pace since 2006, up 13.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 901,000 units in July, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The July rate is 36.3% higher than the July 2019 pace. New home sales are up 8% on a year-to-date basis.
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total construction spending during July 2020 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,364.6 billion, 0.1% (±1.2%) above the revised June estimate of $1,362.8 billion. The July figure is 0.1% (±1.6%) below the July 2019 estimate of $1,366.0 billion.
ENERGY
- WTI Crude Oil Futures: 9/17/2020: $40.97/barrel up $3.67 from week earlier; down $17.14 from year earlier.
- Natural Gas Futures: 9/17/2020: $2.042/MMBtu, down $0.281 from week earlier; down $0.595 from year earlier.
- Retail Diesel: 9/21/2020: $ 2.422/gal., down $0.013 from week earlier; down $0.565/gal. from a year earlier.
- Electricity: 6/20/2020: Average price to industrial customers 6.95 cents/kilowatt hour; up from 6.91 cents/kilowatt hour a year earlier.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration