1. Clyde Companies, Inc., South Hansen Pit, Salt Lake County, Utah

2. CalPortland Co., Dupont Pit, Pierce County, Wash.

3. Nevada Ready Mix, Lone Mountain Pit, Clark County, Nev.

4. Gila River Indian Community, Maricopa Pit, Pinal County, Ariz.

5. Robertson Ready Mix, Inc., Rialto Pit, San Bernardino County, Calif.

Domestic production data for crushed stone and construction sand and gravel are derived by the USGS from voluntary surveys of U.S. producers. In 2008, 11,732 aggregates operations were surveyed and 85 percent were active. Of the aggregates operations surveyed, 4,083 operations, or 41 percent, reported their production/sales and dollar value to the USGS. Their total production was 1.27 billion metric tons (1.40 billion short tons). Slightly less than one-fifth of the operations that reported their 2008 production tonnages did not report a corresponding dollar value for their production.

Production of the non-responding quarries was estimated using employment data provided by MSHA. The estimated production of 4,210 non-respondent operations was 651 million metric tons (718 million short tons), or 26 percent of total U.S. construction aggregates production.

Unit values are determined by the average annual f.o.b. plant prices, usually at the first point of sale or captive use, as reported by the construction aggregates producing companies. This value does not include transportation from the plant or yard to the consumer. It does, however, include all costs of mining, processing, in-plant transportation, overhead costs, and profit. In 2008, 70 percent of the operations that responded to the annual survey reported the value of their production. For those operations that reported production only, the unit values of total production or specific end uses were estimated based on other reporting operations within the same state. The average unit value for specific end uses within a state was used in the estimation of value for operations reporting the same specific end uses. The state average was used in the estimation for operations reporting a total production, but not total value. AM

Jason Christopher Willett is a crushed stone commodity specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

More minerals information

The USGS produces a set of publications on construction aggregates and other mineral commodities, including the Minerals Yearbook, Crushed Stone and Sand and Gravel Mineral Industry Surveys, and Mineral Commodity Summaries.

The Minerals Yearbook is an annual publication that contains statistical data on crushed stone and construction sand and gravel as separate chapters. The Minerals Yearbook series includes chapters on approximately 90 mineral commodities and 175 countries.

Crushed Stone and Sand and Gravel Mineral Industry Surveys are quarterly, Web-based publications designed to provide timely statistical data on domestic production of crushed stone, construction sand and gravel, and aggregates at the national, state, and regional levels. The quarterly survey is a sample survey that generates production-for-consumption estimates by quarter, based on information reported voluntarily by a limited number of producing companies.

The Mineral Commodity Summaries is published on an annual basis and is the earliest annual government publication to furnish estimates regarding prior year construction aggregates industry data. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010 currently provides preliminary data on 2009 production. A directory of producers is published annually for the crushed stone industry and for the construction sand and gravel industry. These directories rank the leading companies based on their production-for-consumption for the previous year.

All publications are available on the USGS Mineral Resources Program Web site, http://minerals.usgs.gov/, by selecting the Quick Link for “Minerals Information.”