Quarterly aggregate sales, pricing up at U.S. Concrete

By |  August 12, 2019
Headshot: William Sandbrook

Sandbrook

Revenue from aggregate products was up in the second quarter at U.S. Concrete, along with the average sales price of aggregate products.

U.S. Concrete generated an aggregate product revenue of $49.5 million on a sales volume of 2.9 million tons during the quarter. The company’s second-quarter aggregate product revenue was up 2.1 percent compared with the second quarter of 2018.

The average sales price of aggregate products, meanwhile, was up 6.5 percent to $11.85 per ton.

According to Bill Sandbrook, the chairman and CEO of U.S. Concrete, rainfall was a factor in the company’s second-quarter performance.

“The improved weather that we are experiencing this summer is in stark contrast to the record-breaking rainfall we endured during April, May and June in Texas,” Sandbrook says. “The weather-related impact was dramatic in sharply reducing ready-mixed concrete shipments in Dallas-Fort Worth and West Texas.

“Furthermore, flooding on the Red River limited our ability to operate one of our sand plants dedicated to supplying a portion of our internal fine aggregates needs in the DFW Metroplex,” Sandbrook adds.

To compound the historically bad weather in the DFW Metroplex, U.S. Concrete’s other markets also experienced significant rainfall, as the second quarter in New York was the wettest in the last 10 years and May in northern California was the wettest in more than 20 years, U.S. Concrete says.

Still, the company continues to see strong underlying fundamental economic conditions in all of its regional markets and a strong pricing environment in both its ready-mixed concrete and aggregate product segments.

“This is evidenced by our solid pricing improvement in the second quarter, as our year-over-year ready-mix and aggregates average selling prices increased 4 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively,” Sandbrook says. “With our solid backlog, robust project-bidding opportunities and more normalized weather patterns, as evidenced in July, we anticipate an improved second half of the year. Increased margin expansion opportunities, as a result of both meaningful volume increases and our internally driven operational improvement initiatives, will generate positive and improved momentum for the remainder of the year.”

“While wet weather defers product sales into future periods, these sales are not lost,” Sandbrook adds. “I am extremely encouraged by the overall health of the economy and the future prospects for a vibrant demand environment for our products. Low interest rates, record low unemployment, healthy state budgets, the flow through of local and state transportation initiatives, and the prospects for increased federal surface transportation spending, all point to an optimistic view of the future.”

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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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