Production heads south!!!

USGS just announced full-year 2006 production numbers, and the totals are shockingly off. An estimated 643 million 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 2006, compared with 735 million tons in the same period of 2005. Crushed stone was off 12.9 percent, while sand and gravel was off 10.5 percent. The estimated 2006 total annual production of aggregates produced for consumption was 2.69 billion tons, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared with that of 2005. Third-quarter numbers were off slightly from the year previous, and fourth-quarter predictions called for more of the same, but harsh weather in some parts of the country killed off production early, resulting in a larger than expected decrease. That weather continued into the first quarter of the year, which suggests that first-quarter 2007 production could take a hit as well. Your comment?