Pit & Quarry, May 2015
ECONOMICS PULSE transportation bill that surely will face another series of short term extensions This absence of long term visibility for funding has a negative impact on project planning and capital spending Although the Tax Protection Pledge movement has held Congress hostage they have not been bashful about transferring funds from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund Since 2008 Figure 7 Construction Materials Volume Summary S P Capital IQ as of 12 31 2014 Congress transferred 53 billion to the Highway Trust Fund to ensure it remained solvent see Figure 12 In spite of the challenges of the past five years the industry was optimistic that Congress would be able to pass a transportation bill in 2015 In January there were reports that a bipartisan group of lawmakers would be able to address highway funding through a repatriation tax break Legislators acknowledged that it would not be a long term In addition to the Summit IPO and the Holcim Lafarge merger merger and acquisition activity continued at a modest pace fix to the trust funds problems but with the lack of alternatives it would be a reasonable solution to shore up the funds solvency A potential opportunity emerged when the White House recently proposed a six year transportation bill similar to the TEA period that would provide stability that has not been present this decade However both Senate and House Republicans would need to buy into the proposition and with presidential candidacies beginning Republican approval will be a tough sell Looks like more of the same from this Congress Summit Materials IPO Summit Materials Inc launched a suc USGS 2014 Figure 8 Construction Aggregates Production Pricing 42 PIT QUARRY May 2015 www pitandquarry com
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