Volume & Price Trends - US Aggregate Industry
Industry trends
The US aggregates industry continues a slow but steady recovery from the downturn caused by the general economic crisis in 2008.
Between 2010 and 2020, consumption of crushed stone and sand & gravel shipments grew at cumulative average growth rates of 2.4% and 1.8% respectively per year from a combined 2.2 billion tons to 2.7 billion tons. Volumes have been updated, based on the annual commodity surveys published by the US Geological Survey in January 2021 and the quarterly update of March 2021, including minor revisions to data reported for prior years.
The nationwide average selling price for crushed stone grew from a $8.68 mill net / ton in 2010 to $11.12 in 2020. This $2.44 / ton increase over the period represented a cumulative annual growth rate of 2.5%. Sand & Gravel pricing increased at a slightly higher rate from $6.62 / ton in 2010 to $8.70/ ton in 2020, a CAGR of 2.8%.
Insights
The full year volumes in 2020 remained well below the previous peak for annual shipments of 2006. Annual consumption of construction aggregates (combined crushed stone and sand & gravel) of 2.7 billion tons in 2019 was 0.7 billion tons, or 20%, below that prior peak year.
The use of recycled materials, while still a minor proportion of overall consumption, has grown at a faster rate than the overall market over the past decade.