Pit & Quarry, December 2009

An Inside Look Waiting on Congress T his time last year our State of the Industry report painted a grim picture of an industry looking at a long uphill climb In many ways that is still the case While the general U S economy is beginning to turn around with the recession having ended sometime this past summer many aggregate producers continue to face weak market conditions and little demand for materials The economic stimulus has helped some producers but the industry needs the shot in the arm only a long term highway spending bill can provide Pit Quarry attended the Ohio Aggregates Industrial Minerals Annual Meeting Trade Show in mid November and the economy was on everyones mind One producer told me Were laying off a bunch of people tomorrow and closing down until spring Another said he expects his site to operate only about six months next year The general consensus is that it may be late 2010 before many producers begin seeing business pick up For this years State of the Industry report see page 10 Winter hazards The U S Department of Labors Mine Safety and Health Administration MSHA kicked off its Winter Alert campaign to warn miners and mine operators of the dangers colder weather can bring to the mining environment Conditions at underground and surface coal mines can change dramatically during the winter months said Joseph A Main assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health We must be ever mindful of the seasonal changes that can affect our work environments And while MSHAs alert is targeted to coal operations many of the recommendations also apply to underground and surface aggregate operations Some of the seasonal hazards MSHA said include limited visibility icy haulage roads and walkways and the freezing and thawing effect on highwalls at surface mines MSHA warns miners and operators at all surface mines to examine the stability of highwalls remove snow and ice from walkways de ice any equipment and apply salt and sand liberally where needed Darren Constantino EDITOR IN CHIEF dconstantino@ questex com REMOVE SNOW AND ICE FROM WALKWAYS DE ICE ANY EQUIPMENT AND APPLY SALT AND SAND LIBERALLY WHERE NEEDED www pitandquarry com 600 Superior Ave East Suite 1100 Cleveland OH 44114 216 706 3700 Fax 216 706 3710 E Mail info@ pitandquarry com EDITOR IN CHIEF Darren Constantino 216 706 3747 dconstantino@ questex com SENIOR EDITOR Brian Richesson 216 706 3748 brichesson@ questex com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mark S Kuhar mkuhar@ questex com SAFETY EDITOR Carl R Metzgar cmetz46840@ aol com LAW EDITOR Michael T Heenan michael heenan@ odnss com WESTERN U S CORRESPONDENT Bill Elverman elvermanwrites@ yahoo com PRINT ELECTRONIC ADVERTISING PUBLISHER Rob Fulop 216 706 3741 rfulop@ questex com SALES MANAGER Dino Vitanza 216 706 3744 dvitanza@ questex com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Dino Vitanza 216 706 3744 dvitanza@ questex com ART DIRECTOR Kim Traum PRODUCTION MANAGER Krystal Lund 218 279 8841 klund@ questex com DIRECTORY PRODUCTION MANAGER Angela Dumonson 218 279 8845 adumonson@ questex com PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Rhonda Sande MANAGER AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Debbie Gullian LISTS Ilene Schwartz Kroll Direct 216 371 1667 Fax 216 371 1669 ilene@ krolldirect com REPRINTS 800 290 5460 ext 100 pitandquarry@ reprintbuyer com SUBSCRIPTIONS BACK ISSUES CUSTOMER SERVICE Phone 866 344 1315 or 847 763 9594 if outside the U S Fax 847 763 9694 Web www pitandquarry com subscriptions President Chief Executive Officer Kerry C Gumas Executive Vice President Chief Financial Officer Tom Caridi Executive Vice President Tony DAvino Executive Vice President Jon Leibowitz Executive Vice President Gideon Dean For Technology Research1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Aggregates Foundation SAND STONE GRAVEL And Education FOUNDER 2 PIT QUARRY December 2009 www pitandquarry com