The Quarry & Aggregates (Q&A) Forum

Rock Products Presents The 2023 Quarry And Aggregates (Q&A) Forum: Industry Thought Leaders Open Up About The Aggregates Industry, Market Conditions, Artificial Intelligence And More.  By Mark S. Kuhar and Josephine Patterson Each year, Rock Products reaches out to industry thought leaders to get their take on the aggregates industry. In this feature, manufacturers and service providers comment on the…

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Upending Another Giant Industry

There are tectonic plate shifts in our economy that have existed since the early ages of commerce, events so dramatic, they shake entire industries. An example would be how the advent of the Internet decimated the travel agency world.  A couple of decades ago, trying to book airline tickets and hotel rooms was a laborious, over-the-phone nightmare that travel agents…

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Construction Spending Up Slightly in October

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, construction spending during October 2023 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,027.1 billion, 0.6% (±1.0%) above the revised September estimate of $2,014.7 billion. The October figure is 10.7% (±1.6%) above the October 2022 estimate of $1,830.5 billion. During the first 10 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $1,646.0 billion,…

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Single-Family Starts Flat in October

Single-family construction held steady in October as high mortgage rates depressed demand but more buyers turned to new homes because of a lack of existing inventory. Overall housing starts increased 1.9% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census…

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The Year in Review

As the Grateful Dead sang, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” 2023 has been a year of surprises, excitement, progress and unexpected developments. Going into the first part of the year, I would have bet my last two-dollar bill we would see increased aggregates production in 2023. While the final numbers are not in, it is pretty apparent final…

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First Look – December 2023

TOP NEWS Martin Marietta Materials Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its South Texas cement business and certain related concrete operations to CRH Americas Materials Inc., a subsidiary of CRH plc, for $2.1 billion in cash. This on the heels of third quarter Building Materials business revenues of a record $1.9 billion, a 10.5%…

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MLPA Panel Discussion a Success

Nov. 30, 2023 – The Missouri Limestone Producers Association held an industry panel discussion at its 78th Convention in Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach, Mo., and I was honored to serve as moderator. Participants included Chris Schlict, Epiroc; Anne Noonan, CEO of Summit Materials; John Griesemer; Erlen Group and George Reddin, FMI Capital. Topics covered included the state of…

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