Special Report

25 Top Companies

USGS details its exclusive report of the nation’s largest aggregates producers, as well as the top crushed stone and sand and gravel sites.

by Jason Christopher Willett

The aggregates industry was quite active in 2006. The   summer months saw many of the larger companies grow in size through acquisitions and report large profits. In June, the fourth-ranked aggregates company, Hanson Building Materials America, Inc., acquired the 19th-ranked company, Material Service Corp. Then in August, Oldcastle, Inc., ranked third, completed its purchase of the 12th ranked, Ashland Paving and Construction, Inc. (APAC). These purchases are likely to solidify the positions of Hanson and Oldcastle in the U.S. aggregates market, but the possible merger (at press time) between Cemex, Inc., ranked seventh, and Rinker Materials Corp., ranked fifth, would change the top rankings. Stock in aggregates mining companies was also in the spotlight during this period because of the large mergers, increasing prices, and large profits reports.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines the aggregates industry as those companies that mine and process crushed stone and construction sand and gravel. The aggregates industry is present in all 50 states, with 4,700 mining companies and 9,100 operations. A total of 2.96 billion metric tons (3.26 billion short tons) of aggregates valued at $19.6 billion, free-on-board (f.o.b.) plant, was reported produced in the United States during 2005.

The USGS estimates that aggregates production levels have increased 11 percent between 2000 and 2005.

Aggregates production has increased 11 percent compared with production levels reported in 2000. Aggregates production increased every year during the past five years except in 2002 owing to a 5-percent decrease in the production of crushed stone. The value of the aggregates produced has also increased greatly during the same period. The average unit price (price of a metric ton of material f.o.b. plant) has increased every year since 2000.

In 2005, the 10 leading aggregates-producing states were, in descending order of tonnage, California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, and Arizona. These states accounted for 46 percent of the total output of aggregates, or 1.35 billion metric tons (1.49 billion short tons), which is greater than the amount of construction sand and gravel produced in all 50 states.

The 25 leading companies, in order of total output of aggregates in 2005, are listed on page 31. These leading companies accounted for 46 percent of the total output of aggregates in the United States and have operations in all 50 states. The 50 largest aggregates operations, based on 2005 production, produced 10 percent of the total output of aggregates, which was valued at $1.9 billion. The 38 crushed stone operations and 12 construction sand and gravel operations were located in 18 states.

In 2005, 1.69 billion metric tons (1.86 billion short tons) of crushed stone valued at $12.1 billion, f.o.b. plant, were reported as being produced in the United States by 1,200 companies with 3,100 operations. Various crushed stone producing companies also operated 184 sales yards.

The 10 leading producing states were, in descending order of tonnage, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which accounted for 54 percent of the total output of crushed stone.

Crushed stone totaling 77 million metric tons (85 million short tons) was produced in 84 underground mines, located in 18 states, during 2005. The leading states were, in descending order of underground crushed stone tonnage, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.  Production from these five states represented 81 percent of the total U.S. crushed stone produced from underground mines.

The 10 leading companies, in descending order of output of crushed stone in 2005, are listed below. These leading companies, with 783 active quarries, accounted for about one-half of the total output of crushed stone in the United States. In addition, these companies operated 166 sales yards.

Top crushed stone companies

1. Vulcan Materials Co.

2. Martin Marietta Aggregates

3. Hanson Building Materials America, Inc.

4. Oldcastle, Inc./Materials Group

5. Lafarge North America, Inc.

6. Rinker Materials Corp.

7. Cemex, Inc.

8. Rogers Group, Inc.

9. Holcim/Aggregate Industries

10. Florida Rock Industries, Inc.

A total of 1.27 billion metric tons (1.40 billion short tons) of construction sand and gravel valued at $7.46 billion (f.o.b. plant) was reported produced in the United States in 2005 by 3,800 companies with 6,000 active operations. 

The 10 leading states, in descending order of tonnage, were California, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Their combined production accounted for about 54 percent of the U.S. total.

Top sand and gravel companies

The 10 leading companies, in descending order of output of sand and gravel in 2005, are listed below. These leading companies, with 587 active operations, accounted for 26 percent of the total output of construction sand and gravel in the United States. In addition, these companies operated 31 sales yards.

1. Oldcastle, Inc./Materials Group

2. Hanson Building Materials America, Inc.

3. Rinker Materials Corp.

4. Vulcan Materials Co.

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

6. Cemex, Inc.

7. Holcim/Aggregate Industries

8. Martin Marietta Aggregates

9. Lafarge North America, Inc.

10. Granite Construction Co., 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 2005, 10,964 aggregates operations were surveyed and 84 percent were active. Of the aggregates operations surveyed, 4,799 operations, or 44 percent, reported their production/sales and dollar value to the USGS, and their total production was 1.14 billion metric tons (1.26 billion short tons), or 39 percent of the total. One-fifth of the operations reported their 2005 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 3,774 non-respondent operations was 725 million metric tons (799 million short tons), or 25 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 2005, fewer than half of the operations responding 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 included 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. It 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 Information Web site, at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/.

Jason Christopher Willett is a mineral commodity specialist for crushed stone with the U.S. Geological Survey. He has a degree in environmental geology and has been with the USGS since 1996.

Top crushed stone operations

The five leading quarries and the owner companies, in descending order of output of crushed stone, are listed below. These five quarries produced 54 million metric tons (60 million short tons) of crushed stone, which was valued at $435 million.

1. Vecellio & Grogan, Inc., White Rock, Dade County, FL

2. Rinker Materials Corp., F.E.C. Quarry, Dade County, FL  

3. Texas Crushed Stone Co., Inc. Georgetown, Williamson County, TX     

4. Cemex, Inc., Balcones Plant, Comal, TX

5. Titan Atlantic LLC, Pennsuco Quarry, Dade County, FL

Top sand and gravel operations

The five leading pits/plants and the owner companies, in descending order of total output of construction sand and gravel, are listed below. These five pits/plants produced 22 million metric tons (24 million short tons) of construction sand and gravel which was valued at $210 million.

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

2. A. Teichert & Son, Inc., Teichert Pit, Sacramento County, CA

3. Hanson Building Materials America, Inc., Sunol Plant, Alameda County, CA

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

5. Vulcan Materials Co., Sun Valley Plant, Los Angeles County, CA

Top 25 companies