A strong national economy and excellent quality of life are built on a foundation of aggregates products. Aggregates touch our lives every day, from the driveway to the workplace. We drive, sit, stand, and walk on aggregates. But that is only part of this interesting and important story.

Getting goods to market is paramount to economic growth. The nation’s infrastructure is dependent upon aggregates – more than 90% of asphalt pavement, and more than 80% of the concrete sidewalk, is comprised of aggregates. Without sound infrastructure, such as highways, mass transit, airports, water systems and rail, the economy could not grow.

Many products that enrich our daily lives contain aggregates. They are found in paint, paper, plastics and glass. In powder form, aggregates are used as mineral supplements for agriculture, medicines and household products. Aggregates are also used to protect the environment by controlling soil erosion, assisting in water purification and reducing sulfur dioxide emissions generated by power plants.

The aggregates industry is highly competitive characterized by thousands of operations, serving local and international markets. Transportation is the major factor in determining the delivered price of aggregates – has freight costs from plans to market can exceed the sale price of the product. Because of high transportation costs, and the large quantities of material necessary for each product, aggregates are usually marketed to local customers. The high transportation costs explain the large number of quarries throughout the country.