Editors’ Blog
Rise of ‘rock and roll’
We first reported in January on The Freedonia Group’s World Construction Aggregates study. The group concluded that the global market for construction aggregates is expected to rise an average of 5.2 percent per year through 2015 and, more specifically, the… Keep Reading
Brighter days ahead?
And now for some good news. Construction contractors and equipment distributors are optimistic local non-residential activity will improve in 2012, according to a recent survey by Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Inc., part of Wells Fargo & Co. In the company’s 2012 Construction Industry… Keep Reading
Quarry field trip comes to the students
Pennsylvania fourth-grade science curriculum includes the study of rocks and minerals, their uses, and the resulting impact on the economy and the environment. With a quarry located in Washington Township, Pa., Martin Stone Quarries Inc. has partnered for many years… Keep Reading
No highway bill coming?
In his Innovation NewsBriefs e-newsletter, Ken Orski reports some sobering news in regards to efforts by Congress to get a long-term highway bill passed. Orski says that yesterday at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, Transportation Secretary Ray… Keep Reading
In my backyard
On paper and on ExxonMobil television commercials, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a safe process for extracting oil and natural gas from deep below the surface of the earth. In practice, the safety of the process is yet to be determined.… Keep Reading
Road rules
NSSGA is following developments in a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule for states, requiring interstate truck drivers to provide proof from a medical professional that they are healthy enough to drive. The kicker? States failing to comply face a 5 percent… Keep Reading
Optimizing the ‘rock factory’
Optimizing the “rock factory” was the common thread running throughout the 2011 Quarry Academy in San Antonio. The three-day program, operated by Sandvik Mining and Construction and Dyno Nobel, brought the latest concepts and technologies of each phase of quarry… Keep Reading
Safety reminders
Safety concerns with bulldozers and highwalls make up MSHA's latest safety alerts. A string of deaths in the mining industry linked to bulldozers and highwalls led MSHA to warn the community about potential dangers and to remind it about best practices. Meanwhile,… Keep Reading
Competitive fires
Martin Marietta Materials' takeover bid for Vulcan Materials has strengthened the competitive fire between the nation's two largest aggregate producers. And understandably so. The companies have been going at each other pretty good lately, since Martin Marietta announced its intentions on Dec.… Keep Reading
