China on the grow

Greetings from Long Beach, CA. I am here for NSSGA's Plant Operator's Forum, and it's great to see so many familiar faces. One of the topics of discussion I am hearing on the show floor concerns the Chinese infrastructure market, fueled perhaps by an article in USA Today detailing construction efforts going on in China. That country is expected to surpass the U.S. in expressway miles by 2020. No wonder the ConExpo Asia show, to be held May 15-18 2006, in Beijing, is generating so much attention. Your comment?

See you in California

I'll be filing blog entries next week from Long Beach, CA., where I will be attending NSSGA's Plant Operator's Forum. I'll look for you there. Your comment?

Top 5 states with the worst roads

When it comes to roads that beat and bang you up, Pennsylvania leads the nation. That's the word from the annual Highway Report Card survey of over-the road truckers conducted by Overdrive magazine. What is so wrong with the highways and byways of Pennsylvania? The top complaints are the conditions of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-78 and I-80, as well as poor signage.
The states with the worst roads are:
1. Pennsylvania
2. Missouri
3. Louisiana
4. Michigan
5. California

The states with the best roads are:
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Georgia and Ohio (tie)
5. Nevada and Virginia (tie)

Your comment?

Paving the way

The National Asphalt Paving Association has released a magnificent hardbound book entitled Paving the Way: Asphalt in America. The book coincides with the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system in the United States, and covers the evolution of hard-surface roads from ancient Rome up to the present time. The photography is incredible. The book is definitely worth adding to your collection. Your comment?

Winners announced

They are stars indeed. NSSGA announced the winners of its National Stars of Excellence program for 2005. Member operations from Dufferin Aggregates, Lafarge Construction Materials, Oldcastle Materials Group, Rinker Materials Corporation and Vulcan Materials Company all received top honors. The eight winners will be recognized on March 10 during an awards breakfast at NSSGA's Annual Convention in Tampa, Fla. Your comment?

Dye walks out!

During today's mine safety and health hearings on Capitol Hill, acting MSHA director David Dye walked out of the proceedings. Even after Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Pa.) specificially asked him to stay and answer questions, Dye had the audacity to leave. I realize he is only the acting director, but is anyone at the agency going to display any accountability at all? It is indeed dark times at the Mine Safety and Health Agency. Your comment?

Oglebay Norton to sell barges

Our neighbor is doing some selling. Oglebay Norton Co., based right here in downtown Cleveland, just up the street from Pit & Quarry's offices, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Oglebay Norton Marine Services Company LLC., has executed 30-day exclusivity agreements with two undisclosed parties related to acquisition of its fleet of self-unloading Great Lakes freight vessels. The company is doing a stand-up job getting its financial house in order. Congrats to Mike Lundin. Your comment?

Legend in my own mind

Check out a great business blog, The Stalwart, published by Joseph Weisenthal. You'll find a terrific interview there with one of the aggregates industry's leading experts: me. Okay, well, maybe i'm just a legend in my own mind. The blog is still quite good. (Scroll down the page to read the interview). Your comment?

For whom the toll tolls

The Federal Highway Administration has agreed with Texas state transportation officials and has ordered the Texas Department of Transportation to immediately stop work on construction of new toll lanes for US HIghway 281 outside 1604, in the San Antonio market. Tex-DOT had requested federal intervention in the face of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups seeking a permanent halt to the construction. A letter from assistant FHA Administrator Achille Alonzi to Tex-DOT Executive Director Michael Behrens says 'our prior environmental clearances on the two US 281 projects are hereby withdrawn in recognition of the issues raised by the public,' most significantly, whether the construction projects violate federal and state environmental laws. Hmmmm, motorists won that battle, but who is winning the war for adequate roads? Your comment?

Congrats to Granite

Granite Construction Inc. has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For in America.” The company ranked 91 overall. The list appears in the magazine’s January 23, 2006 Issue. Published annually by FORTUNE, the “100 Best” list recognizes companies that provide rewarding places to work. Congratulations to Granite Construction. Your comment?

Kicking some asphalt

World demand for asphalt products is projected to increase 2.3 percent per year to 114 million metric tons in 2009, according to a new study from the Freedonia Group. Growth prospects for asphalt will vary widely, with the more developed areas (North America, Western Europe and Japan) registering relatively slow gains; while developing economies will post much more robust advances. North America is the largest regional market for asphalt, accounting for 36 percent of total world demand in 2004. The United States represents the largest national market for asphalt, and dominates North American consumption. Western Europe, which accounted for 22 percent of world demand in 2004, is generally comparable to North America in its asphalt consumption levels, in terms of intensity of utilization. However, both Western Europe and North America are relatively mature markets, and will exhibit below average rates of growth through 2009, as will Japan, another highly industrialized, mature market. Your comment?

Safety hearings

The word on the street is, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (HELP) is working with Ranking Member Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to schedule an oversight hearing on mine safety in response to the West Virginia coal-mine accident that killed 12 miners. Enzi will also apparently expedite the confirmation process for Richard Stickler, President Bush's nominee to head MSHA. Stickler formerly was Director of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Deep Mine Safety during the 2002 rescue of nine miners who were trapped for more than three days in a mine near Somerset, Pa. In addition to the Senate HELP Committee hearing, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) has announced the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies will hold a mine safety hearing. Byrd has worked to schedule it with Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)--the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee. Your comment?

Vulcan opens the wallet

Another acquisition to announce. Vulcan Materials Co. added to its strategic North Carolina holdings by acquiring Penrose Quarry from Macon Construction, Inc. The quarry is in Transylvania County, near Brevard, North Carolina and will become part of Vulcan's Mideast Division. Don James, Vulcan’s Chairman and CEO says, “This acquisition expands our Mideast Division’s operations and presence in western North Carolina. It enables Vulcan to enter and serve a new, attractive market that includes some of the most desirable vacation and retirement locations in North Carolina. Vulcan’s extensive geographic footprint across higher growth regions of the United States provides continuing opportunities for bolt-on acquisitions that extend our markets.” It also gives them another quarry smack dab in Martin Marietta's back yard, which probably doesn't sit well with the Raleigh-based company. Your comment?

MSHA Quick Reference

How about a great tool for dealing with MSHA regulations? MINEHELP, a division of LRH Inc., has released the MSHA Quick Reference Guide for Metal and Nonmetal Mines. The book is designed to make MSHA's Parts 43, 46-50, 56-58 and 62 easy to use. The book is cross-referenced and for both surface and underground mines. Pick up a copy today. Your comment?

P&Q Index goes up

Hey, happy monday. The January Pit & Quarry index -- published in the January issue of Pit & Quarry magazine, but leaked to the public here first – jumped to 213, up from 209 last month. Used as a predictor, the index tells us that 2005 finished with a bang. We look forward to seeing the index rise higher as 2006 progresses. Your comment?

Simonson predicts

There is certainly no lack of prognostication, as 2006 begins. "Fast-rising materials and fuel costs have exaggerated the recent growth of highway construction," says Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. "For 2006, I expect the cost of fuel, asphalt, and plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, to average 10-20 percent higher than in 2005, because of high petroleum and natural gas costs. Copper remains expensive, and I expect continuing spot shortages of cement that will push concrete prices higher nationwide. However, steel, wood, and gypsum products should be no higher on average than in 2005 despite a lot of month-to-month volatility. The leading construction segments are likely to be manufacturing, health care, and lodging. Single-family construction will fade as the year goes on. I'm worried that states will have a hard time maintaining growth in highway construction. High fuel prices are bringing down fuel consumption, which in turn lowers state and federal highway trust fund receipts." . . . So it is written. Your comment?

From the rumor mill

Merger and acquisition rumors are rampant these days. John Waples, writing in the financial section of the London Times, predicts that in 2006, Lafarge will acquire Hanson. Of course he also predicts that Carphone Warehouse, the telecoms group, will enter the FTSE 100 and Charles Dunstone, its chief executive, will cement his reputation as one of the outstanding entrepreneurs of his generation. Uh . . . what? Your comment?

Talk versus truth

White House press secretary Scottt McClellan, commenting on the Sago mine disaster, said mine safety has been a priority for the Bush administration. "In fact this administration proposed a fourfold increase in fines and penalties for violations of the Mine Safety and Health Administration rules," he said. Ummmm . . . . yeah, right. Just like they investigated Massey Energy Co.’s 300 million gallon coal-slurry spill. Ask fired former MSHA inspector/whistleblower Jack Spadaro how the Bush Administration supported THAT investigation. Details here. Your comment?

Disaster strikes

Was the Sago coal mine a disaster just waiting to happen? In the past two years, the mine was cited 273 times for safety violations, of which about a third were classified as "significant and substantial," according to MSHA. In addition, 16 violations logged in the past eight months were listed as "unwarrantable failures." In other words, serious safety infractions. Sago was operated by Anker West Virginia Mining Co. until two months ago, when it was purchased by International Coal Group Inc. That company now bears the burden for the worst mining disaster in recent memory. Your comment?

Red-hot construction

Construction put-in-place is on a record pace as the year winds down, according to Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. The value of construction put in place set a record of $1.15 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 0.2 percent from October. "For the first 11 months of 2005, total construction was nine percent higher than in same months of 2004," Simonson says. "Private residential construction grew 11 percent, public construction, eight percent, and private nonresidential, five percent. "The leading categories have been multi-retail (general merchandise, shopping centers, and shopping malls), up 25 percent year-to-date; manufacturing construction, 23 percent; private multifamily, 21 percent; hospitals, 13 percent; private single-family, 12 percent; and highways and streets, 11 percent." Your comment?