First Look – February 2023

TOP NEWS

Lehigh Hanson Becomes Heidelberg Materials
Lehigh Hanson Inc. announced it has now changed its brand to Heidelberg Materials effective immediately. Previously announced in September of last year, this new brand identity goes into effect for the company’s corporate office and its core brands of Lehigh Cement and Hanson Aggregates.

BURNCO Rock Products Closes Action Ready Mix Deal
BURNCO Rock Products Ltd. has closed the asset acquisition of Action Ready Mix LLC. The acquisition bolsters BURNCO’s position within the Colorado front-range market by adding several ready-mix concrete plants in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

MDU Resources Expects Second Quarter Spinoff of Knife River Corp.
MDU Resources Group Inc. submitted a confidential draft registration statement on Form 10 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the planned spinoff of its construction materials business, Knife River Corp.

USGS STATS 
The estimated U.S. output of construction sand and gravel sold or used in the third quarter of 2022 was 282 Mt, a slight increase compared with that in the third quarter of 2021. The estimated production for consumption in the first nine months of 2022 was 724 Mt, a slight increase compared with that in the same period of 2021, according to Jason Christopher Willett, commodity specialist, National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey.

MSHA WATCH 
The aggregates industry suffered its first fatality of 2023. MSHA reported that on Jan. 4, a miner at Vulcan Materials’ Sevierville Quarry, Sevier County, Tenn., was fatally injured while performing maintenance inside a jaw crusher. The pitman assembly (moving jaw) rotated, pinning the miner against the crusher housing. MSHA classified the fatality as “Machinery.”

WOMEN IN AGGREGATES
Women in Aggregates is a new group dedicated to supporting women working in the aggregates industry. The Mission Statement of the group is: “To create a supportive space for women that fosters leadership growth, networking opportunities and advocacy of the aggregate industry.” Membership in Women in Aggregates is open to any woman working in, or working in support of, the aggregates industry, including producers, manufacturers and distributors; and marketing, advertising or public relations professionals. Interested parties can go to www.womeninaggregates.com to join the mailing list and to stay apprised of future developments, meetings, events and other communications from the group. There is also a LinkedIn discussion page, at www.linkedin.com/groups/12717856/

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, construction spending during November 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,807.5 billion, 0.2% (±0.8%) above the revised October estimate of $1,803.2 billion. The November figure is 8.5% (±1.3%) above the November 2021 estimate of $1,665.2 billion.

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, improved 6.6% (2000=100) in December to 222.2 from the revised November reading of 208.3. In December, the commercial component of the DMI rose 8.4%, and the institutional component ticked up 2.7%.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November increased 5.8% to a 640,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-to-date basis, new home sales are down 15.2%. It takes 400 tons of aggregates to construct the average modern home, according to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

ENERGY

WTI CRUDE OIL FUTURES
1/19/2023: $80.33/barrel, up $1.94 from week earlier; down $6.63 from year earlier.

RETAIL DIESEL
1/16/2023: $4.524/gal., down $0.025 from week earlier; up $0.799 from year earlier.

ELECTRICITY
10/20/2022: Average price to industrial customers 8.61 cents/kilowatt hour; up from 7.22 cents/kilowatt hour a year earlier.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Related posts