Aggregate industry in the United States

In 2017, the aggregate industry in the United States mined and sold 2.12 billion metric tons of crushed rock, sand and gravel valued at US$20.9 billion. There are thousands of aggregate-producing companies in the US, operating in each of the 50 states, and employing 105,000 people. Most aggregate is used by the construction industry, where it is an essential raw material and the main ingredient in concrete and asphalt concrete.[1][2]

Industry structure

As of 2017, there were about 3600 companies mining sand and gravel, and 1400 thousand mining crushed rock in the United States, with many companies doing both.[3][4]

Top crushed rock companies as of 2015, in order of descending tonnage. The top ten companies provided 45 percent of the crushed rock produced in the US.[5]

Rank Company
1. Vulcan Materials Company
2. Martin Marietta Aggregates
3. Oldcastle Materials, Inc.
4. Lehigh Hanson, Inc.
5. CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V.
6. Lafarge North America Inc.
7. Rogers Group, Inc.
8. Charmeuse Lime & Stone
9. Holcim Group
10. Lhoist North America

Top sand and gravel companies as of 2015, in order of descending tonnage. The top ten provided 53 percent of the sand and gravel produced in the US.[6]

Rank Company
1. Oldcastle Materials, Inc.
2. Vulcan Materials Co.
3. Lehigh Hanson, Inc.
4. CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V.
5. MDU Resources Group, Inc.
6. Holcim Group
7. Martin Marietta Aggregates
8. Granite Construction, Inc.
9. Summit Materials, LLC
10. Mitsubishi Cement Corp.

Use

Most aggregate is used in construction, including 97 percent of sand and gravel and 76 percent of crushed rock. Per capita usage in the United States in 1996 was 8.7 metric tons per year.[7]

Use, and therefore production of aggregate, is determined by the construction industry. Production in 2017 was well below the peak of 3.1 billion tons mined in 2006, during the height of the United States housing bubble.[8][9]

References
  1. US Geological Survey, "Sand and gravel (construction)," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
  2. US Geological Survey, "Crushed stone," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
  3. US Geological Survey, "Sand and gravel (construction)," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
  4. US Geological Survey, "Crushed stone," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
  5. US Geological Survey, "Stone, crushed," 2015 Minerals Yearbook, November 2017.
  6. US Geological Survey, "Sand and gravel, construction," 2015 Minerals Yearbook, March 2018.
  7. US Geological Survey, "Natural aggregates - foundation of America's future," Fact Sheet FS-144-97, Feb. 1999
  8. US Geological Survey, "Sand and gravel (construction)," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
  9. US Geological Survey, "Crushed stone," Mineral Commodity Summary, Jan. 2018.
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