Domestic production data for crushed stone and construction sand and gravel are derived by the USGS from voluntary surveys of U.S. producers. In 2006, 11,280 aggregates operations were surveyed and 85 percent were active. Of the aggregates operations surveyed, 3,451 operations, or 36 percent, reported their production/sales and dollar value to the USGS, and their total production was 1.04 billion metric tons (1.15 billion short tons), or 34 percent of the total. A little more than one-fifth of the operations reported their 2006 production/sales tonnages, but did not report a 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 output of 4,032 non-respondent operations was 953 million metric tons (1.05 billion short tons), or 31 percent of the total of U.S. aggregates production.

Prices are the average annual f.o.b. plant prices, usually at the first point of sale or captive use, as reported by the 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 2006, 62 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 what other operations in the same state reported. 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.

The USGS produces a set of publications on the aggregates commodity, which includes the Minerals Yearbook, Mineral Industry Surveys, Mineral Commodity Summaries, and industry directories. The Minerals Yearbook is an annual publication that contains statistical data on crushed stone and construction sand and gravel as independent chapters. The Minerals Yearbook series includes chapters on approximately 90 mined 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 level.

This 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 are published on an annual basis and is the earliest annual government publication to furnish estimates covering aggregates industry data. A directory of producers is published annually for each of the crushed stone and the construction sand and gravel industries. These directories rank the top companies based on their production-for-consumption for the previous year.

All publications can be found on the USGS Mineral Resources Program Web site, http://minerals.usgs.gov/,  and selecting the Quick Link for “Minerals information.”

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