Pit & Quarry, February 2014

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT P Q AGGREGATES INDUSTRY INDEX MAR 11 APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN 12 FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN 13 February 256 FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN 14 300 250 200 150 The Pit Quarry Aggregates Industry Index jumped three points this month FEB Source Pit Quarry Construction experiences a double digit drop New construction starts in November fell 11 percent from the previous month according to McGraw Hill Construction The downturn followed heightened activity in October which showed the strongest pace for construction starts during 2013 Both nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction pulled back from their elevated October amounts At the same time residential building showed modest growth in November continuing the steady upward trend that was present most of 2013 For the first 11 months of 2013 total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at 4753 billion up 6 percent from the same period a year ago McGraw Hill Construction adds that Novembers data produced a reading of 111 for the Dodge Index compared with 125 in October and 118 in September For the first eight months of 2013 the Dodge Index had averaged 105 as it hovered within the fairly narrow range of 100 to 108 While November showed a decline from the previous two months the level of activity was still above what had been reported earlier in the year McGraw Hill Construction says The monthly construction start statistics will often show an up and down pattern given the amount of large projects that are included in any given month says Robert Murray chief economist for McGraw Hill Construction Although November witnessed a decline from the heightened activity in September and October the construction start statistics when viewed in the context of 2013 as a whole are still trending upward For 2014 Murray says the upward trend for total construction starts is expected to continue One plus for construction and the economy going forward is the recent budget pact approved by the U S Congress he says because it removes the uncertainty that would have come with the threat of another government shutdown in early 2014 Monthly Construction Contract Value Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates in Millions Nov 2013 Oct 2013 Change Nonresidential Building 179292 215574 17 Residential Building 218457 215387 1 Nonbuilding Construction 127068 160148 21 Total Construction 524817 591109 11 Source McGraw Hill Construction FIRST OF MONTH OPENING JAN DEC Cemex CX 1174 1091 CRH Oldcastle CRH 2549 2539 Eagle Materials EXP 7725 7787 Granite Construction GVA 3495 3112 Martin Marietta Materials MLM 9954 9636 Texas Industries TXI 6732 5841 U S Lime Minerals USLM 6124 5754 Vulcan Materials Co VMC 5934 5656 Source Yahoo Finance Only Eagle Materials slipped entering the new year but its stock dropped less than 1 percent from December to January Texas Industries experienced a 15 percent onemonth boost Only nonbuilding construction through November 2013 lags behind the same 11 month period from the previous year Total construction is up 6 percent year to date Year to Date Construction Contract Value Unadjusted Totals in Millions 11 mo 2013 11 mo 2012 Change Nonresidential Building 155391 143543 8 Residential Building 190949 152205 25 Nonbuilding Construction 128972 151081 15 Total Construction 475312 446829 6 Source McGraw Hill Construction 8 PIT QUARRY February 2014 www pitandquarry com