Friday, March 31, 2006

Quarry construction begins

With all the talk of permitting problems, it's nice to hear about new quarries under construction. Polaris Minerals Corporation is reporting that construction has begun at its Orca Quarry project on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Development of the Orca Quarry began in early March 2006 with land clearing and site preparation for the construction of ship load-out conveyors and a sand and gravel processing plant. Construction of a ship berth will commence on April 3, 2006, when piling operations begin under a contract with Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd. To date, contracts of approximately $42.7 million have been executed for the supply and installation of the sand and gravel processing plant, the ship loader, and various ancillary equipment supplies. The processing plant is being provided under a turn-key contract with Metso Minerals. Mobile equipment has been ordered from Finning (Canada). It is expected that construction of the Orca Quarry will be completed, and that production will have commenced by the end of 2006. The first shipment of sand and gravel to northern California is expected in the first quarter of 2007. The quarry is expected to help alleviate future aggregates shortages in California. Your comment?

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Mine escape planning

The intense focus on mine safety continues. A joint MSHA/NIOSH workshop on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 will be held to identify the major issues and concerns related to mine escape planning and emergency shelters in the mining industry, and to share information with the mining community. The workshop will provide for an exchange of information among all segments of the mining community involved with mine emergency preparedness and will generate an agenda for research to improve technology for mine safety in these areas. The workshop will begin at 8:00 A.M. and conclude by 5:30 P.M. and will be held at the National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Your comment?

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Going commercial

While I'm here in Nashville learning about demolition, commercial construction is a hot topic. Commercial construction is poised for its best year since 2001, according to Associated General Contractors of America. Job growth and falling vacancy rates may push investment in nonresidential construction up 9% this year to $531 billion. The rebound comes after spending dropped more than 25% from its peak in 2000 as the economy stalled and the Internet bubble burst, leaving more than a quarter of the office space vacant in some markets. Good news, especially in light of the softening in residential construction. Your comment?

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Think demolition

Greetings from the National Demolition Association convention in Nashville. I'm actually here on behalf of Portable Plants & Equipment magazine, our sister publication. While the attendeees here have very little to do with the aggregates industry, many exhibitors are cross-over manufacturers. Lots of attachment people, plus our good friends at Caterpillar, Cedarapids and others. Have you ever been to the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center. Takes about a half-hour to walk to your room. More on that later. Your comment?

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Record aggregates production reported for 2005

An estimated 715 million metric tons of total aggregates (crushed stone, sand, and gravel combined) was produced and shipped for consumption in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2005, compared with 707 million metric tons in the same period of 2004, according to the latest USGS Mineral Industry Survey. “The estimated 2005 total annual production of aggregates produced for consumption was 2.9 billion metric tons, a 1.8 percent increase compared with 2004,” says Jason C. Willett, crushed stone commodity specialist. "That is a new record amount."

An estimated 405 million metric tons of crushed stone was produced and shipped for consumption in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2005, a slight increase compared with the same period of 2004. The estimated annual production of crushed stone shipped for consumption in 2005 was 1.6 billion metric tons, an increase of 2.5 percent compared with 2004.

The estimated output of construction sand and gravel produced for consumption in the fourth quarter of 2005 was 307 million metric tons, an increase of 3 percent compared with the same period of 2004. The estimated annual production of construction sand and gravel shipped for consumption in 2005 was 1.25 billion metric tons, a slight increase compared with 2004.

“In the fourth quarter of 2005, there was also a 6.5 percent increase in portland cement consumption compared with the same period of 2004, and a 5.7 percent increase for 2005 compared with 2004, another indication of increased construction activity at the national level,” Willett says.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Prices are high

"Construction materials costs are outpacing overall consumer and producer prices by a wide margin," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). "Today the government reported that the producer price index (PPI) plunged 1.4 percent in February but the PPI for construction materials and components rose 0.3 percent." Simonson today issued an updated analysis of construction materials costs in the latest version of AGC's Construction Inflation Alert, which shows that with a generally strong outlook for construction activity, materials prices are likely to rise faster than the overall rate of consumer or producer prices again in 2006. In the report Simonson says, "the rate of increase for construction materials and components prices could be closer to the 10.1 percent rate of 2004 than the 6.1 percent rate of 2005. Once again, however, prices are likely to vary greatly by type of material and project." Simonson says the national average retail price of diesel fuel was around $2.55 per gallon, 60 cents below the record set after Rita but 35 cents (16 percent) higher than a year ago. "It appears diesel prices for 2006 as a whole will be up 10-30 percent over 2005, with wide month-to-month variation," says Simonson. He also says that asphalt prices will be elevated and may go higher by year-end, as refiners introduce more desulfurization equipment that leaves less liquid asphalt at the end of the refining process; construction plastics prices should come down from recent highs but average 10-20 percent higher than year-ago levels; and other products that rely on natural gas or that have high transport costs, such as paints and coatings, insulation, and brick, are likely to rise 5-10 percent in price." Your comment?

Monday, March 20, 2006

Stickler nomination on hold

Senator Robert Byrd, D-WV, put a "hold" on the nomination of Richard Stickler as the new head of MSHA. Senator Byrd said he wants to personally meet with Stickler, who for 30 years worked in mine management for Beth Energy and Massey Energy, before he became chief of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Deep Mine Safety. Senate rules allow any senator to block nominees, and the hold on President Bush's nominee will last for at least another week, since the Senate is on a week-long break. Byrd said in a statement, “I have yet to meet with Mr. Stickler, and I will continue to hold his nomination until I can meet with him to discuss the urgency of coal safety improvements — modern communications equipment, better enforcement of safety laws already on the books, and minimum safety fines to encourage compliance with safety practices. “MSHA’s political leadership seems to have lost sight in recent years that miners’ safety and health is that agency’s top priority,” Byrd added. “Until I know that Mr. Stickler will make safety job number one at MSHA, I will not allow his nomination to move forward.” That means the full Senate can't vote on Stickler until Byrd decides otherwise.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Merger mania

There is of course no comment from Lafarge, but those in the know say it is true that a Lafarge-Hanson merger is being discussed. This would not involve Hanson's entire business, but strategic North American operations are rumored to be involved. If the deal goes down, it could create a true mega-producer here in the U.S. Sort of reminds you of a Chevon-Texaco or Exxon-Mobil thing, don't it? Your comment?

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Teacups instead of safety

Hmmmmmm, this is rather interesting. I'm hearing that the North Carolina Mine Safety Program is in trouble because of a lack of state funding, acccording to a recent article. They spend most of their time helping to train miners at small mine operations. Their budget was cut by $270,000 and they are facing laying off 1/3 of their staff and cutting the training programs. Yet, state legislators there found enough money to fund a "Teacup Museum" to the tune of $400,000 and will build a "sports hall of fame" for a little over $2 million. How's that for keeping priorities straight? Your comment?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

FHA director opposed

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday he will prevent the former head of Boston's $14.6 billion "Big Dig," Richard Capka, from becoming head of the Federal Highway Administration. "I'm afraid Richard Capka could be the Brownie of highways," Kerry said, quoted on CNN's web site, referring to former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown, who became the scapegoat for the inept federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Capka, nominated earlier this month by President Bush for the top highway job, was chief executive officer of the project from January 2001 to June 2002 until his position was terminated. The project is to replace a choked, elevated highway through the city with a wider underground expressway. Though costs rose slightly during his 1-1/2-year tenure, Capka was mostly criticized for his failure to handle the political controversies surrounding the massive project. For example, he approved lucrative severance packages for several Big Dig lawyers. Your comment?

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Convention wrap

The final full day of the NSSGA convention featured the annual Board of Directors meeting. One of the speakers at the meeting, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino, joked about her lack of experience in transportation issues. I didn't think that was wise, with memories of inexperienced former FEMA chief Michael Brown still fresh in people's minds. It was good to hear her talk up Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, a transportation true-believer. Nice also to hear about TRIP's plans to celebrate this year's 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system. Your comment?

Friday, March 10, 2006

Convention news

It was another great day at the NSSGA convention. There were more committee meetings and some great educational sessions. It was also the day for the Manufacturing & Servces Committee gavel exchange, with Ed Svec from Austin Powder handing over the reigns to John Bennington of Greystone. The gavel exchange luncheon featured the usual shenanigans, with past chairmen heaping abuse on the outgoing chairman. All in good fun of course. Still more to come. Your comment?

Convention moves forward

NSSGA's annual convention, held here in Tampa, Fla., is a who's who aggregates producers from around the country. It has been a pleasure seeing old friends and meeting new ones as well, such as Jason Willets, the new crushed stone specialist at USGS. Yesterday's main event was the opening-session keynote address by Jason Jennings, one of the nation's top business gurus. He spoke about his research on the secrets of successful companies. The day was also filled with committee meetings, and capped by an outdoor reception. I heard that Lafarge has finally closed its deal to acquire Joliet Sand & Gravel in Illinois, a great strategic acquisition. Your comment?

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Blog on the road

Greetings dear readers. Starting tomorrow, I will be blogging live and direct from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association's annual convention in sunny Tampa. Check back for a full report on convention proceedings, exciting news and anything else I can dig up. Your comment?

Monday, March 06, 2006

Survey results

Happy Monday. It's a great day in the blogosphere. Have you had a chance to check out CIT's latest Construction Industry Forecast? Lots of great info. When asked about the most serious problems facing their business, construction contractors say increased insurance costs, lack of a quality workforce and change in government regulations. Distributors note profit margins, rather than regulations at number three. Both contractors and distributors agree that public works projects -- including highway constructio -- will be more important to their business moving forward. For a copy of the study, contact Dan Sommer at dan.sommer@cit.com. Your comment?

Friday, March 03, 2006

Time's up

This is not a good time for the New York Times to discover that the Bush administration has decreased major fines for safety violations since 2001, and in nearly half the cases, it has not collected the fines. And according to a data analysis by the paper, federal records show that in the last two years the federal mine safety agency has failed to hand over any delinquent cases to the Treasury Department for further collection efforts, as is supposed to occur after 180 days. This just does more to perpetuate the impression that mines are not responsible for their actions and the government has looked the other way, leading to mine safety violations that result in death. Your comment?

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Hanson goes shopping

The dollars are starting to change hands. Hanson announced that it has signed a contract to acquire Material Service Corp. from General Dynamics Corp. for $300 million. Completion of the acquisition, which is subject to final due diligence and regulatory approval, is anticipated to occur in the second quarter of this year. Headquartered in Chicago, Material Service is the 13th largest producer of aggregates in the United States, according to Pit & Quarry's MegaProducers list. Material Service employs more than 800 people and operates 10 crushed stone quarries and three sand and gravel quarries. The company's primary market is Illinois, including the greater metropolitan area of Chicago. Illinois is the fifth largest aggregates market in the U.S. Three of the crushed stone locations are in western Indiana. This acquisition should increase Hanson's annual aggregates volume in the U.S. by around 15% and moves Hanson ever closer to Martin Marietta Materials as the second largest aggregate producer in the U.S. Jim Kitzmiller, President of Hanson Aggregates North America, says: "This is an important acquisition for Hanson, taking us into Illinois for the first time and extending our presence in Indiana. Adding Material Service's people and assets to our group provides new and exciting opportunities for further development in the north central US area." Your comment?

FATALITY #3

MSHA has reported Fatality #3 for 2006 on the metal/nonmetal side, which occcured February 13, 2006 at Pyramid Materials-Division/Haines & Kibblehouse Inc. in Pennsylvania. The fatality occcured when a 25-year old superintendent was fatally injured at a crushed stone operation. A crane, operated by a contractor employee, was being used to lift a pitman from the secondary crusher. The victim was standing on the work platform and was struck by the pitman as it was being lifted. Your comment?