Karen Hubacz, president of Bond Construction Corp. and board chair of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), spoke about the impact of inflation on the aggregate industry during a roundtable of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.
According to NSSGA, Hubacz stressed the need for Congress to provide solutions that will help the industry succeed in providing the materials needed for the nation’s infrastructure.
“In my small family business in Spencer, Massachusetts, we have seen the real impacts of this inflation crisis,” Hubacz says. “Fuel is the key input needed to drive our production, and fuel prices have tripled in the past year. This is driving the increased costs for the materials we produce: from running the quarry to creating asphalt and trucking materials to jobsites.”
In addition, Hubacz emphasized the need to prevent further regulations that raise compliance costs. She highlighted the effects inflation is having across the industry, as well.
“The shortage of workers and increase in burdensome regulations are all contributing to the delay of infrastructure projects,” Hubacz says. “Overall, these delays and cost increases mean the funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill is being spent on fewer projects.”
Others who joined Hubacz during the House T&I Committee roundtable were representatives from the American Trucking Associations, the Associated General Contractors of America, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and the city of Wilmington, North Carolina.
