Rise of ‘rock and roll’

We first reported in January on The Freedonia Group’s World Construction Aggregates study. The group concluded that the global market for construction aggregates is expected to rise an average of 5.2 percent per year through 2015 and, more specifically, the North American market is expected to increase 4.3 percent per year. This is good news compared to the average annual decline of the North American market by 1.7 percent per year from 2005 to 2010.

And owing to more restrictive land use and environmental regulations, as well as the depletion of natural aggregates reserves, sales of recycled, secondary and other aggregates will climb at an above-average pace during the 2010 to 2015 period.

So “rock” is on the rise. What about the “roll”? Well, The Freedonia Group also did a study on the global demand for mining equipment, including “nonmetallic minerals mining machinery.” In World Mining Machinery, the group projected that the world market will increase an average of 8.5 percent annually through 2015.

This is consistent with what I have heard from some of the larger equipment manufacturing companies. However, much of the growth they’ve been experiencing and projecting for the near future is based on sales in other parts of the world, especially Asia.

In this latest study, The Freedonia Group says the North American market for mining equipment will also rise – an average of 5.8 percent per year.

While the projection is that the market for nonmetallic minerals mining machinery will increase at a somewhat slower rate than that of metal- and coal-mining equipment, the good news is that it’s going up.

Coupled with some upbeat news on the construction front, these two latest studies from The Freedonia Group give us much reason for optimism. It’s music to our ears.