Martin Marietta President Ward Nye Testifies Before Congress
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Ward Nye, president and COO, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., Raleigh, NC, testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the status of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. His testimony, on behalf of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, was to present the aggregates industry’s perspective on ARRA and to discuss its impact on the aggregates industry.
Providing an overview of the aggregates business of Martin Marietta Materials and of the aggregates industry in general, Nye testified that, despite a 27 percent decrease in aggregate production in the first six months of 2009 compared to that same period in 2008, there was evidence to suggest that ARRA funds helped maintain the market and prevented significant erosion of the workforce in the transportation construction market of the aggregates industry. The stimulus funds’ positive impact may be muted by state and local government budget difficulties.
In preparation for this hearing, NSSGA surveyed its producer members specifically on measuring ARRA and the activity it generated.
Respondents indicated there were some specific positive regional impacts in the Northeast and Midwest. While the majority had not yet seen a noticeable sales increase over the last three months, it is believed that this is due in part to stimulus projects taking longer than expected to advance to the actual construction phase.
Indications are that about 25 percent of ARRA projects will commence in the second half of 2009, with most of the remainder in 2010. About one-third of the survey respondents think 2010 will bring a sales increase. Accordingly, it is expected that the stimulus will have a positive impact on construction activity and employment. However, when asked about their 2010 state transportation budgets, the majority responded that the state budgets are expected to be down — if not level — compared to 2009. The balance of respondents was hopeful state budgets would increase.
Nye concluded his testimony by saying that the aggregates industry believes any momentum generated by ARRA will be lost if Congress fails to act now on a well funded, multi-year surface transportation authorization bill. Nye urged Congress to make the nation’s transportation infrastructure a priority, saying that the U.S. transportation infrastructure is the foundation of America’s economic stability and growth, and it has also fostered America’s global competitiveness.
Based near the nation’s capital, NSSGA is the world’s largest mining association by product volume. Its member companies represent more than 90 percent of the crushed stone and 70 percent of the sand and gravel produced annually in the U.S. and approximately 118,000 working men and women in the aggregates industry. During 2008, a total of about 2.34 billion metric tons of crushed stone, sand and gravel, valued at $19.4 billion, were produced and sold in the United States.
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