Additionally, USGS says the states experiencing the greatest first-quarter 2023 percentage gains in aggregate production were Minnesota (up 80 percent), Mississippi (up 66 percent) and Iowa (up 53.3 percent).
USGS’s West North Central division, which resides in the agency’s Midwest region, had the largest percentage increase in aggregate production during the first quarter at 28.3 percent. The West North Central division includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
USGS’s Pacific division, which resides in the agency’s West region, had the largest percentage decrease in aggregate production during the first quarter at 24.4 percent. California was the biggest contributor to the decline.
Crushed stone on the move
Crushed stone production, at least, was up ever so slightly in the first quarter this year.
USGS reports that 300 Mt were produced and shipped for consumption across the U.S. in the quarter. That total is a 1.7 percent increase over USGS’s first-quarter 2022 estimate for crushed stone (295 Mt).
Regionally, USGS says crushed stone production increased in six of its nine geographic divisions compared with the prior-year quarter. Additionally, the agency says production increased in 29 of the 45 states it tracked, with the five leading crushed stone-producing states being Texas, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The combined production total for those five was 114 Mt – a number that’s on par with their combined total from the first quarter of 2022.
Sand and gravel moving the other way
The latest USGS data on sand and gravel production, meanwhile, shows that it took a significant dip in the first quarter – dropping 8.8 percent versus the first quarter of 2022.
The 160 Mt produced were 15 Mt fewer than the sand and gravel output from the prior-year period, with USGS noting that production decreased in four of its nine geographic divisions.
By state, USGS says first-quarter sand and gravel production dropped in 23 of the 44 states it measured. The top five sand and gravel-producing states in the quarter were Texas, California, Arizona, Florida and Colorado, whose combined production totaled 58.5 Mt. The combined total of those five is down 16.2 percent versus the first quarter of 2022.
