About P&Q’s Road to Recovery series

Yanik

Has this not been the strangest year you’ve ever lived?

2020 started out like any other year for aggregate producers, who brought sizable backlogs into the year. Many continue to churn through those as we move toward the second half of 2020.

Still, the onset of the coronavirus brought significant change – a kind none of us had quite experienced before. While many of us continued to work by shifting the office into the home, tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs. With so many people hunkering down at home, the system that props our economy up was severely compromised – and it unfortunately still is.

Our government injected trillions of dollars into the economy over the last few months to keep the system functional. We saw stimulus checks, payroll protection and payment deferrals on mortgages, rent and student loans, among other responses. At midyear, people are becoming more comfortable, and many have settled back into their routines. But the economic road ahead remains a daunting one with countless uncertainties ahead.

Although the economy got that massive infusion, producers continue to await meaningful federal funding on infrastructure that will give them the confidence to move forward on projects.

The state of the states is also concerning. Anticipated revenues were not generated during the first half of the year, and questions are mounting about projects tied to state Departments of Transportation.

Will the federal government bail out the states? Will the construction work be there to keep producers crushing rock? The industry must wait and see.

Road to Recovery

In the meantime, Pit & Quarry launched a special series to help producers navigate their businesses through these uncertain times. Our Road to Recovery series is designed to deliver the very latest information producers need to make smart decisions.

I laid out some of the obstacles producers will face as the nation embarks on the road to economic recovery. As a response, P&Q wants to arm you with necessary intel that allows your business to emerge from the downturn successfully.

P&Q’s Road to Recovery series will be a fixture in the magazine in the months ahead, offering economic forecasts, exclusive interviews, datapoints, best practices and news on highway funding and stimulus packages. Look for insights, video interviews and more at pitandquarry.com/roadtorecovery, as well.