USGS: Crushed stone production dipped in 2017

By |  February 28, 2018

Production of crushed stone was slightly down in 2017, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Production totaled 1.33 billion tons, which were valued at more than $15 billion. In 2016, crushed stone production reached 1.36 billion tons.

According to USGS, demand for crushed stone was lower in 2017 because hurricanes affected states along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. Long-term increases in construction aggregate demand will be influenced by activity in the public and private construction sectors, as well as by construction work related to security measures being implemented around the nation, USGS adds.

For 2017, an estimated 1,400 companies operating 3,700 quarries and 187 sales and distribution yards collectively produced the 1.33 billion tons of crushed stone. The top 10 states in terms of production were Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia and Indiana. Together, these states accounted for more than half of the total crushed stone output.

Of the total domestic crushed stone produced in 2017, about 70 percent was limestone and dolomite; 13 percent was granite; 6 percent was traprock; 5 percent was miscellaneous stone; 4 percent was sandstone and quartzite; and the remaining 2 percent was divided among marble, volcanic cinder and scoria, calcareous marl, slate and shell.

USGS estimates that of the 1.39 billion tons of crushed stone consumed in the United States last year, 76 percent was used as construction material, mostly for road construction and maintenance. Eleven percent was used for cement manufacturing; 7 percent for lime manufacturing; 4 percent for other chemical, special and miscellaneous uses and products; and 2 percent for agricultural uses.

Kevin Yanik

About the Author:

Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

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