American essayist and novelist Charles Dudley Warner is known for making the famous remark, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Mark Twain liked it so much he stole it and everyone now attributes it to him. No matter who said it, the remark is spot on. But what can we do about it? We better…
Read MoreCategory: Editorial
EPA Just Hit an Industry Home Run
When it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suffice it to say, that the industry has had its fair number of conflicts with the agency over regulations and enforcement. So it is a banner day when we can say that EPA did something good for the industry. On July 16, EPA announced the selection of 38 “Reducing Embodied Greenhouse…
Read MoreTime to Beat the Heat
As I write this, it is hot outside. I’m talking 95 degrees. Looking at the national weather map, more than 76 million people are under some level of heat alert right now. About 150 million people are expected to experience temperatures above 90 degrees F. The Southwest portion of the country is a literal oven. Writing and editing from the…
Read MoreRock Products + Young Leaders
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) recently convened its 2024 Annual Young Leaders Meeting in San Antonio. The event was attended by Rock Products’ prevailing Young Leader, Managing Editor Josephine Patterson. Along with keynotes from industry leaders, the meeting included educational breakout sessions on various topics, such as environmental permitting and drone utilization. The general session featured discussions…
Read MoreMerger Mania
Last month I noted the significance of Breedon’s foray into the North American aggregates market with its acquisition of BMC Enterprises. You can read my interview with Breedon executive Andy Arnold in this issue for a little inside information on that deal. But mergers and acquisitions activity in the aggregates industry is far from over. Here are some recent deals.…
Read MoreA Breedon Apart
The news was not totally unexpected, it had been rumored for a while, but it just got real real: Breedon has entered the U.S. construction materials market. Breedon Group plc, in case you are not aware, is a leading vertically integrated construction materials group in Great Britain and Ireland. Breedon holds “1 billion tonnes of mineral reserves and resources with…
Read MoreThe Record-Breaking Aggregates Industry
The publicly traded companies are out with their full-year 2023 financial reports and by all accounts it was a record-breaking year. The list goes on. While vibrant market conditions continue to drive performance for aggregates operations, there is no discounting the impact of the healthy price increases that companies are also reporting. Rock Products’ pricing guru, Barry Hudson of Price…
Read MoreMineral Commodities Update
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports U.S. mine and plant production data for 16 selected mineral commodities that are provided on a monthly (or quarterly) basis to the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System (FRS), for use in preparing its index of industrial production and the related capacity indexes and capacity utilization rates. In the aggregates industry we of course…
Read MoreWelcome to 2024
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2024. I hope this is a banner year for all of us and we see much success up ahead in the aggregates industry. Public highway, pavement and street construction is expected to grow by double digits for the second consecutive year, increasing 16% to $126 billion in 2024 from $108.6 billion in 2023, according…
Read MoreThe 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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