U.S. Construction Aggregates

Tepordei, Valentin V.; ,

U.S. Construction Aggregates

by Valentin V. Tepordei, US Bureau of Mines, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Serviceability and Durability of Construction Materials

Abstract:

Crushed stone and sand and gravel are the two main sources of natural construction aggregates in the United States as well as in the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, the production of aggregates in the U.S. was relatively small and their uses limited. Today, both of these natural resources are widely used and produced in every State except Delaware, where only sand and gravel is being produced. In 1989, a total of 2.1 billion short tons of crushed stone and sand and gravel valued at $8.9 billion were produced in the United States. Of this total, 1.2 billion tons was crushed stone and 897 million tons was sand and gravel. The crushed stone and especially the sand and gravel industries are represented by a large number of companies and operations. A total of 5,934 companies operating 9,160 stone quarries and sand and gravel pits were active in 1987 through 1988. Changes in the structure of both industries continued to occur in the last 10 years, primarily caused by mergers and acquisitions. As a result of these changes, most of the large operations are owned by a small number of companies. Another trend occurring in the aggregate industries is toward diversification, especially into intermediate construction products such as ready-mixed concrete and concrete products or construction work. These and other aspects of the subject are discussed.

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