Production statistics from 2007 highlight the beginning of a dip in national production figures.

by Jason Christopher Willett

U.S. production of construction aggregates in 2007 was 2.83 billion metric tons (3.12 billion short tons) valued at $22.5 billion, free on board (f.o.b.) at plant. Construction aggregates production and the associated value has increased 6 percent and 65 percent, respectively, compared with the quantity and values reported in 2000. In 2007, construction aggregates production decreased for the first time since 2002 owing to a 7-percent decrease in the production of construction sand and gravel and a 9-percent decrease in the production of crushed stone. The average unit value (price of a metric ton of material f.o.b. plant) has increased every year since 2000.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines the construction aggregates industry as those companies that mine and process crushed stone and construction sand and gravel. The construction aggregates industry is present in all 50 states and consists of more than 5,000 mining companies that manage more than 10,000 operations. In 2007, the 10 leading construction aggregates-producing states were, in descending order of tonnage, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, Missouri, Georgia, and Indiana. These 10 states accounted for 45 percent of the national total production of construction aggregates, or 1.27 billion metric tons (1.40 billion short tons).

The 25 leading companies, in order of construction aggregates production in 2007, are listed below. These companies controlled 2,030 active operations throughout the 50 states and accounted for 44 percent of the total production of construction aggregates in the United States. The 100 largest construction aggregates operations produced 13 percent of the total production of construction aggregates, valued at $2.9 billion. The 80 crushed stone operations and 20 construction sand and gravel operations were located in 28 states.

1. Vulcan Materials Co.

1200 Urban Center Dr.

Birmingham, AL 35242-2545

Phone: 205-298-3000

Web site: www.vulcanmaterials.com

2. Martin Marietta Aggregates

2710 Wycliff Road

Raleigh, NC 27607-3033

Phone: 919-781-4550

Web site: www.martinmarietta.com

3. Oldcastle Materials, Inc.

1055 Thomas Jefferson St., N.W.

Suite 400

Washington, DC 20007-5256

Phone: 202-625-2122

Web site: www.oldcastlematerials.com

4. Lehigh Hanson

8505 Freeport Parkway

Irving, TX 75063-2548

Phone: 972-621-0345

Web site: www.hansonaggeast.com

5. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V.

840 Gessner

Suite 1400

Houston, TX 77024-4152

Phone: 713-650-6200

Web site: www.cemexusa.com

6. Lafarge North America, Inc.

12950 Worldgate Dr.

Suite 500

Herndon, VA 20170-6000

Phone: 703-480-3600

Web site: www.lafarge-na.com

7. Holcim/Aggregate Industries

7529 Standish Place

Suite 200

Rockville, MD 20855-2783

Phone: 301-284-3600

Web site: www.aggregate-us.com

8. MDU Resources Group, Inc./Knife River Corp.

1150 West Century Ave.

Bismarck, ND 58506-0942

Phone: 701-530-1400

Web site: www.kniferiver.com

9. Rogers Group, Inc.

421 Great Circle Road

Nashville, TN 37228-1407

Phone: 615-242-0585

Web site: www.rogersgroupinc.com

10. Carmeuse Lime & Stone

11 Stanwix St.

11th Floor

Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1312

Phone: 412-995-5500

Web site: www.carmeusena.com

11. Texas Industries, Inc. (TXI)

1341 West Mockingbird Lane

Dallas, TX 75247-6913

Phone: 972-647-6700

Web site: www.txi.com

12. California Portland Cement Co.

2025 East Financial Way

Suite 200

Glendora, CA  91741-4603

Phone: 626-852-6200

Web site: www.calportland.com

13. Granite Construction, Inc.

585 West Beach St.

Watsonville, CA 95076-5123

Phone: 831-724-1011

Web site: www.graniteconstruction.com

14. Luck Stone Corp.

515 Stone Mill Dr.

Manakin Sabot, VA 23103-3261

Phone: 800-898-5825

Web site: www.luckstone.com

15. New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc.

3912 Brumbaugh Road

New Enterprise, PA 16664-9137

Phone: 814-766-2211

Web site: www.nesl.com

16. Vecellio & Grogan, Inc.

2251 Robert C. Byrd Dr.

Beckley, WV 25801-8790

Phone: 800-255-6575

Web site: www.vecelliogrogan.com

17. Dolese Bros. Co.

20 N.W. 13th St.

Oklahoma City, OK 73101-4806

Phone: 405-235-2311

Web site: www.dolese.net

18. Fisher Sand & Gravel Co.

3020 Energy Dr.

Dickinson, ND 58601-7184

Phone: 800-932-8740

Web site: www.fisherind.com

19. A. Teichert & Son, Inc.

3500 American River Dr.

Sacramento, CA 95864-5802

Phone:  916-484-3011

Web site: www.teichert.com

20. Ash Grove Cement Co.

11011 Cody St.

Overland Park, KS 66210-1313

Phone: 800-545-1882

Web site: www.ashgrove.com

21. Haines & Kibblehouse, Inc.

2052 Lucon Road

Skippack, PA 19474-9914

Phone:  610-584-8500

Web site: www.hkgroup.com

22. Chemical Lime Co.

3700 Hulen St.

Ft. Worth, TX 76107-6816

Phone:  817-732-8164

Web site: www.chemicallime.com

23. Colas Inc.

10 Madison Ave.

4th Floor

Morristown, NJ 07960-7303

Phone:  973-290-9082

Web site: www.colas.fr

24. Fred Weber, Inc.

2320 Creve Coeur Mill Road

Maryland Heights, MO 63043-4207

Phone:  314-344-0070

Web site: www.fredweberinc.com

25. National Lime & Stone Co.

551 Lake Cascade Parkway

Findlay, OH 45840-1388

Phone:  419-422-4341

Web site: www.natlime.com

In 2007, a total of 1,447 companies produced or sold crushed stone in the United States from 3,562 operations with 3,710 quarries and 193 sales and/or distribution sites. A total 1.60 billion metric tons (1.76 billion short tons) of crushed stone was produced for consumption from surface and underground mines, nearly 10 percent less than the total production of 2006. The value of the total crushed stone produced was $13.9 billion, f.o.b. plant, a slight decrease compared with the 2006 total. The average unit price for crushed stone increased 8 percent. The increase in unit price offset the decrease in production to keep the value of the total crushed stone produced at about the 2006 level.

The 10 leading crushed stone producing states were, in descending order of tonnage, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Tennessee. In 2007, the combined production of the 10 leading states decreased by 10 percent and was more than one-half of the national total.

In 2007, underground production, totaling 69 million metric tons (76 million short tons), accounted for 4 percent of the total U.S. production of crushed stone. Crushed stone was produced in 86 underground mines located in 18 states. The five leading states were, in descending order of underground production, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa. Production from these five states represented 72 percent of the total U.S. crushed stone produced from underground mines.

The 10 leading companies, in descending order of crushed stone production in 2007, are listed below. These companies, with 898 active quarries and 183 sales and/or distribution yards, accounted for about one-half of the total production of crushed stone in the United States.

1. Vulcan Materials Co.

2. Martin Marietta Aggregates

3. Lehigh Hanson

4. Oldcastle Materials, Inc.

5. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V.

6. Lafarge North America, Inc.

7. Holcim/Aggregate Industries

8. Rogers Group, Inc.

9. Carmeuse Lime & Stone

10. Luck Stone Corp.

A total of 1.23 billion metric tons (1.36 billion short tons) of construction sand and gravel, valued at $8.6 billion, f.o.b. plant, was reported produced in the United States in 2007 by 4,084 companies with 6,668 active operations and 61 sales and/or distribution yards.

The 10 leading states, in descending order of production, were California, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, Utah, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Their combined output of construction sand and gravel accounted for approximately 52 percent of the U.S. total construction sand and gravel production.

The 10 leading producing companies, in descending order of tonnage in 2007, are listed below. These companies, with 647 active operations, accounted for 23 percent of the total output of construction sand and gravel in the United States. In addition, these companies operated 31 sales and/or distribution yards.

1. Oldcastle Materials, Inc.

2. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V.

3. Vulcan Materials Co.

4. Lehigh Hanson

5. MDU Resources Group, Inc./Knife River Corp.

6. Holcim/Aggregate Industries

7. Lafarge North America, Inc.

8. Martin Marietta Aggregates

9. U.S. Bureau of Land Management

10. Granite Construction, Inc.

Domestic production data for crushed stone and construction sand and gravel are derived by the USGS from voluntary surveys of U.S. producers. In 2007, 12,132 aggregates operations were surveyed and 85 percent were active. Of the aggregates operations surveyed, 3,642 operations, or 35 percent, reported their production/sales and dollar value to the USGS, and their total production was 993 million metric tons (1.10 billion short tons). Slightly more than one-fifth of the operations that reported their 2007 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 the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The estimated production of 4,570 non-respondent operations was 882 million metric tons (972 million short tons), or 29 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 2007, 64 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.

Top Crushed Stone Operations

The five leading crushed stone quarries, in descending order of 2007 production, are listed below. These five quarries produced 41 million metric tons (45 million short tons) of crushed stone, valued at $383 million.

1. Vecellio & Grogan, Inc., White Rock, Miami-Dade County, Florida

2. Texas Crushed Stone Co., Inc. Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas

3. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., F.E.C. Quarry, Miami-Dade County, Florida

4. Vulcan Materials Co., McCook 378, Cook County, Illinois

5. Martin Marietta Aggregates, Beckmann Quarry, Bexar County, Texas

Top Sand and Gravel Operations

The five leading construction sand and gravel pits/plants, in descending order of 2007 production, are listed below. These five pits/plants produced 21 million metric tons (23 million short tons) of construction sand and gravel, valued at $157 million.

1. California Portland Cement Co., Dupont Pit, Pierce County, Washington

2. Clyde Companies, Inc., South Hansen, Salt Lake County, Utah

3. Gila River Indian Community, Maricopa Pit, Pinal County, Arizona

4. Nevada Ready Mix, Lone Mountain Pit, Clark County, Nevada

5. All American Asphalt, Corona Plant, Riverside, California

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

Headline: USGS Reports

The USGS produces a set of publications on construction aggregates and other mineral commodities, including the Minerals Yearbook, 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. Aggregates 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. The 2009 Mineral Commodity Summaries will provide preliminary data on 2008 production in early 2009. 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.”