Pit & Quarry, October 2016

GOVERNMENT Down to the wire ISTOCK COM MATTJEACOCK Transportation infrastructure hasnt exactly driven the presidential campaign but both major candidates have articulated their positions on the issue as Election Day approaches BY KEVIN YANIK he rallying cry is etched in all of our minds by now Were going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it says Donald Trump the Republican nominee for president time and time again Whether or not the United States erects a wall T along the Mexican border let alone convinces Mexico to pay for it is still to be determined Regardless the wall has undoubtedly been a signature theme of Trumps campaign And although the wall is largely an issue about illegal immigration and national security it is very much a transportation infrastructure issue too Sanford C Bernstein Co an investment research firm produced a report detailing the aggregate producers that would likely benefit from the so called Trump Wall According to Bloomberg which offers a breakdown of the report Cemex SAB the largest cement maker in the Americas would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Trumps plan CalPortland Co Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua SAB Martin Marietta Materials Inc and Vulcan Materials Co would also likely benefit from the project which would demand construction materials from the border region As ludicrous as The Trump Wall project sounds to us at least it represents a huge opportunity for those companies involved in its construction writes Phil Roseberg along with other Bernstein analysts in the report Despite arguments concerning which government will pay for construction the large quantities of materials required may necessitate procurement from both sides of the border In addition to the wall itself Bernstein analysts write that another opportunity for producers related to the wall is road building Roads leading to the wall would have to be built so construction materials could easily be delivered the firm says It is not economically feasible to transport heavy building materials over large distances write the Bernstein analysts As such it is the companies with production facilities closest to the border that stand to gain the most as suppliers to The Trump Wall project The firm adds that the planning and land acquisition required for the project would take one to two years with another two years required for construction CANDIDATE PROPOSALS Trumps Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton hasnt pledged to build a wall along the U S Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it but she has pledged to send Congress a comprehensive infrastructure proposal in her first term According to the August 2016 edition of the American Road Transportation Builders Associations ARTBA Special Report The Presidential Candidates on Transportation Clinton released a five year proposal in November 2015 that would increase the federal infrastructure investment by 275 billion Specifically Clintons plan calls for increasing the direct public investment in infrastructure improvement by 250 billion over five years ARTBA reports In addition Clintons proposal calls for creating a national infrastructure bank to leverage 25 billion in federal funds to support up to 225 billion in direct loans loan guarantees and other forms of credit enhancement 46 PIT QUARRY October 2016 pitandquarry com