Feb. 14, 2024 – Martin Marietta Materials delivered a sweet Valentines Day gift to the industry, reporting the best year in company history. And aggregates shipments were actually down, 46.6 million metric tons (Mt) versus 47.7 Mt quarter over quarter; and 198.8 Mt versus 207.7 Mt year over year. You can thank double-digit pricing increases for that. Looking at the year…
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Dredging Through Climate Change
Feb. 13. 2024 – The Western Dredging Association (WEDA) recently issued a white paper, “How the Dredging Industry Contributes to Our Communities’ Resilience, Sustainability and Adaptation in Response to Climate Change,” based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed in 2015. This white paper demonstrates the dredging industry’s contributions to worldwide sustainability challenges. The UN SDGs represent 17…
Read MoreShark Week is Coming
Feb. 7, 2024 – Rock Products is a proud sponsor of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s Young Leaders group. This year, once again, we will be sponsoring the Young Leaders Luncheon at AGG1 in Nashville. This year’s speaker will be Robert “Shark” Garland, a combat veteran fighter pilot of the United States Air Force. He was an F-15 Eagle instructor at…
Read MoreMSHA Alert: Truck Dumping Safety
Feb. 5, 2024 – MSHA reported that on Jan. 2, the driver of an over the road tractor-trailer haul truck died when the trailer tipped over onto the cab of the tractor. The driver was dumping part of the load of gravel from the trailer. Between 2018 and 2024, mine operators reported 14 injury accidents where over the road trucks tipped…
Read MoreGCAA, Vulcan Give a Rep a Tour
Jan. 31, 2024 – The Georgia Construction Aggregate Association (GCAA) reports that on Jan. 22, GCAA and Vulcan Materials hosted a quarry tour with Congressman Mike Collins (R-Ga.) at Vulcan’s Sparta, Ga., quarry. Collins serves the Georgia 10th Congressional District and he also serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Alan Yarbro, Sparta plant manager, briefed the congressman on…
Read MoreMissouri Governor Details Funding
Jan. 26, 2024 – The Missouri Limestone Producers Association reported that Gov. Mike Parson’s final State of the State address had some big items for the limestone and mining industries:
Read MoreThe AVP Pulse Index for January
Jan. 18, 2024 – The AVP Pulse Index this month rose 2.4% month-over-month, while increasing 5.5% year-over-year. The proprietary AVP Pulse Index – a joint effort between mergers and acquisition advisors Allen-Villere Partners, and Rock Products – illustrates the health of the industry in one single trend line, using relevant data that is updated monthly or quarterly. “The monthly Index further enforces…
Read MoreWanted: The Sand Man
Jan. 17, 2024 – Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and San Clemente, Calif., Mayor Victor Cabral learned that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sand replenishment project on San Clemente beaches will be delayed due to ongoing sand quality issues. It didn’t go over very well. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to allow the contractor, Manson Construction, to delay the project up to 70…
Read MoreThe Topic is Dust
Jan. 9, 2024 – Brian David, industry manager at Flexco, writes that “the safety and health of workers in the heavy-duty mining industry is something that I and the team at Flexco take very seriously, as does the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). For more than 20 years, we have anticipated a huge change in direction with MSHA’s respirable…
Read MorePermitting Battle
Jan. 4, 2024 – There is an interesting article in Birmingham Watch, entitled, “In Alabama, What Does It Take to Shut Down a Surface Mine Operating Without Permits?” The article begins, “When state environmental regulators in June approached the president of Rock Creek Stone, an Alabama-based sandstone quarry along Rock Creek, they were clear that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit and…
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