The nation’s aggregate production was up in the second quarter, increasing 5.7 percent year over year.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the nation’s total aggregate production in the second quarter was 674 million metric tons.

The top five-producing states in aggregates were Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. Their combined total production for consumption in the second quarter was 196 million metric tons.

Through six months of the year, USGS says aggregate production is up 5.9 percent. Aggregate production was up 6 percent in the first quarter.

Crushed stone

Of the 674 million metric tons of aggregates produced in the second quarter, 413 million metric tons were crushed stone. Crushed stone production was up 6.8 percent in the quarter.

The top five crushed stone-producing states in the second quarter were Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida and Ohio, whose combined production totaled 139 million metric tons. Their combined production was up 3.8 percent compared with the second quarter of 2025.

Through six months of the year, crushed stone production is up 6.4 percent. Crushed stone production was up 6 percent in the first quarter.

Sand and gravel

Sand and gravel production, meanwhile, was up 4 percent in the second quarter, totaling 261 million metric tons.

The top five sand and gravel-producing states in the second quarter were California, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona and Nevada, which collectively produced 94.8 million metric tons. Their combined production was up 16.1 percent versus the second quarter of 2025.

Through six months of the year, USGS says sand and gravel production was up 5 percent. Sand and gravel production was up 6 percent in the first quarter.

Additional details

USGS makes estimates each quarter through a sample survey of aggregate producers. The agency also surveys cement producers about shipments of portland and blended cement. According to USGS, portland and blended cement consumption was up about 4 percent in the second quarter.

Related: Look back on U.S. aggregate production in the first quarter

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They’re exposed to raw material and punishing weather conditions. More often than not, they experience a shortened life from catastrophic events – including significant impacts, splice failures and piercing damage.

Belts also suffer from chronic issues such as mistracking and frozen idlers. Beyond correcting these problems to extend belt life, many operations also contend with damage from loading, belt wear caused by cleaning devices and the difficulty of cleaning damaged belts.

Belt wear from loading

Because belts are a major cost component in the process of conveying bulk materials, significant attention is focused on reducing wear and damage.

In general, loading wear occurs over a long period of time from the discharge of material onto belts and from contact with conveyor components such as idlers and belt cleaners. Belt wear from loading includes both impact damage and frictional wear.

Belt damage can result from a single event such as tramp metal or oversized lumps in the material stream. Sudden damage can result in catastrophic failure that requires immediate attention, demanding a system shutdown. The negative effects of long-term wear are less dramatic, and replacement can generally be scheduled for planned outages to avoid affecting conveyor availability.

Chute design matters

One of the keys to understanding belt wear from loading is chute design. The development of discrete element modeling (DEM) as applied to conveyor loading chutes has given the industry a valuable tool for verifying chute designs and predicting conveyor belt wear. Published research indicates belt life can improve 40 to 300 percent when DEM is used to optimize chute designs.

The primary objectives of chute design are to direct an uninterrupted flow of the bulk solid from the chute to the receiving belt, centered in the direction of belt travel and as close as possible to the speed of the receiving belt.

Although the interaction between the belt and the bulk material is complex, troubleshooting belt wear caused by chute design often comes down to a few fundamental relationships. The first is the general relationship between material impact angles and the wear rate of rubber. As the impact angle increases, the wear generally decreases.

The second fundamental principle that can be applied to chute design to minimize belt wear is the speed of the bulk material stream, which is affected by friction and acceleration due to gravity as the load falls to the belt.

The coefficients of friction between the bulk material, chute and belt are important parameters utilized in DEM programs to optimize the shape of the chute and produce the desired exit velocity and direction of the discharged bulk material.

Choosing the right chute

Common chute configurations include rock boxes, inclined flat chutes and curved chutes. Other factors to consider when designing the optimum chute for a given application include drop height and preferred liner materials.

Generally, belt wear is the greatest with rock boxes, which do little to slow the material’s velocity and introduce a large amount of disruption as the load cascades from one shelf to the next – before landing on the moving belt at a near-perpendicular angle.

Flat inclined chutes help redirect the load in the general direction of the receiving belt’s travel, but they can create even greater impacts than a rock box, depending on the drop height. The violent landing takes a constant toll on the belt, often creating significant amounts of fugitive material in the form of dust and spillage.

Belt wear from loading impact is generally minimized when using curved chute designs, as the bulk material stream’s velocity can most closely be matched to that of the belt with curved chutes.

While belt wear is the main concern, a significant amount of attention should be paid to the selection of liners to prolong chute life. Given the relative cost of the belt compared to the chute in most applications, wear liners should be considered sacrificial components.

Attention would be better spent on improving chute design, selecting lower friction liners and making the liners easier and quicker to change. Some manufacturers offer liner systems that can be serviced from outside the chute, for example, eliminating confined-space entry and drastically reducing replacement time.

Todd Swinderman is president emeritus at Martin Engineering.

Related: Building better conveyor belt support

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Luck Stone and Caterpillar began their autonomous hauling journey together at the Bull Run Plant in Chantilly, Virginia.

Now, the partners are expanding the technology’s use to two additional Virginia operations: the Boscobel Plant in Manakin-Sabot and the Bealeton Plant in Bealeton.

The expansion follows more than 18 months of autonomous hauling at the Bull Run Plant. According to Caterpillar, more than 3.5 million tons have been hauled autonomously at Bull Run since November 2024.

“At Luck Stone, we’ve always believed innovation should ignite human potential,” says Travis Chewning, vice president of engineering and operations support at Luck Stone. “Autonomy is creating a safer workplace that improves consistency for our customers and gives our associates opportunities to develop new skills as our industry continues to evolve. Our collaboration with Caterpillar has helped us do exactly that, and we’re excited to continue building on what we’ve learned at Bull Run.”

Delivered by Caterpillar and supported by local Cat dealer Carter Machinery, the expansion will integrate Caterpillar’s autonomous hauling technology across two fleets of Cat 775 trucks at Boscobel and Bealeton, alongside complementary technologies that support loaders and other site equipment.

According to Caterpillar, this marks the first time the company will deploy its autonomous haulage solution on the Cat 775.

“Our mission at Caterpillar is to solve our customers’ toughest challenges, and customers like Luck Stone play an important role in helping us advance solutions for the broader industry,” says Denise Johnson, group president of Resource Industries at Caterpillar. “By working together, we’ve gained insights that help us refine and scale autonomous hauling solutions that create measurable value for both operations and workforce development. This expansion demonstrates how strong customer collaborations are helping us accelerate innovation and bring proven solutions to more jobsites around the world.”

Collectively, Caterpillar says its autonomous trucks have hauled more than 13 billion metric tons and traveled more than 282 million miles with no reported injuries while operating.

Related: Luck Stone, Epiroc launch ‘first’ autonomous drill

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Superior Industries named Rock Machinery as its new full-line equipment dealer in Michigan.

The expanded partnership gives aggregate producers throughout the state access to Superior’s complete portfolio of crushing, screening, washing and conveying equipment through a single dealer. In addition to individual machines, Rock Machinery can now work with producers and Superior to bring those technologies together into complete portable, modular or stationary plant solutions from a single source.

“For Michigan producers, this is about having a single resource close to home that can help plan, build and support their entire processing operation,” says Jeff Gray, director of sales at Superior. “Just as importantly, we already work extremely well with Rock Machinery, and they know our people, our products and our systems intimately through our existing partnership in Wisconsin and Illinois.”

According to Superior, that full-line capability is especially valuable when producers are planning new plants, expansions or major equipment replacements. Rather than sourcing individual pieces of equipment from multiple suppliers, Rock Machinery will work with Superior to evaluate the complete process, from feeding and crushing through screening, washing, stockpiling and loadout.

“Having Rock Machinery represent the full Superior line allows us to look at the entire application together and help the customer build a more integrated solution,” Gray says.  “The value isn’t just in the individual machines, but in how they work together.”

Related: Superior names new washing product manager

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Smiley Monroe’s TitanCore

Smiley Monroe launched a new steel cord conveyor belt range built for applications where strength, durability and long-term performance are critical.

Designed for heavy-duty conveying over long distances, TitanCore is available with specialized top covers to suit a range of applications – including cold-resistant, flame-resistant, heat-resistant and oil-resistant environments.

“Launching TitanCore at Hillhead feels particularly fitting because it has been developed in response to many of the challenges we regularly hear from the market,” says Ryan Wright, sales director at Smiley Monroe. “Customers are looking for conveyor belts and components that can withstand increasingly demanding operating conditions while delivering consistent performance, reduced maintenance requirements and long-term value. TitanCore has been built with those priorities in mind.”

NTN’s MagicSleeve

Also at Hillhead, NTN unveiled an innovation that reduces bearing removal time from roughly 25 minutes with standard tools to about five minutes.

The company’s new MagicSleeve is designed to eliminate the need for tools such as hammers, angle grinders and blowtorches. It can be reused several times and removed with a standard spanner.

“It’s basically a replacement for a standard tapered sleeve,” says Nathaniel Ablard, technical services manager at NTN UK. “It adds another level to ease maintenance.”

At its core, Ablard says the MagicSleeve is a relatively simple concept.

“You’ve still got a locking nut and washer as you would on a normal sleeve,” he says. “Compared to a normal sleeve, you’ve still got the tapered bit. The only addition is the nut. It’s particularly suited for vibratory applications because it features a grub screw that locks in to receive the shaft.”

Telestack’s hopper and stacker

Celebrating its 25th anniversary at Hillhead, Astec’s Telestack launched the LF527 low-feed hopper to reduce double handling and ensure smooth, controlled material flow.

Additionally, the TCL 1031 Zero debuted from Telestack as a heavy-duty stacker that handles high tonnages.

Related: Upgrade or replace? Deciding the future of aging conveyor systems

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Not in the construction materials industry, at least.

Within an eight-day span this summer, though, two transactions of that size involving aggregate producers were announced.

In the first deal unveiled June 22, CRH announced it had signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Arcosa in a deal valued at about $8.5 billion. Then, on June 29, Martin Marietta announced it had agreed to combine with Lhoist North America in a deal valued at $13.5 billion.

Of the four companies, three (Martin Marietta, CRH and Lhoist North America) rank among the top 10 crushed stone producers according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Three of the four (CRH, Martin Marietta and Arcosa) also appear among the top 11 on USGS’s latest list ranking the nation’s largest sand and gravel producers.

While these megadeals significantly alter the producer landscape, they’re also indicative of the broader mood in the market. Ultimately, the deals reflect the high level of confidence producers have in the construction materials industry right now.

“There’s a lot of really smart capital that is very confident in the market,” says Rob Mineo, managing director at FMI Capital Advisors. “M&A is a strong way to capture growth, and no one seems to be worried that macroeconomic uncertainty is going to affect the inherent strength of the industry.”

What’s fueling confidence

Confidence and certainty ultimately fuel M&A.

Both dynamics are currently palpable in materials demand across both public and private construction.

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Conveyors typically operate in the elements, carrying heavy, abrasive materials at high tonnages. Despite this, many handling systems can provide reliable service for decades when properly maintained.

At some point, though, operators must decide whether to modify, upgrade or replace the system.

Whether an increase in throughput is needed or the equipment is experiencing frequent downtime or maintenance requirements, operators and plant managers must carefully weigh their options. To the surprise of many, replacement isn’t always required, as targeted retrofits can often be just as effective in improving system reliability, safety and throughput.

Strategic upgrades and retrofits

Unlike some processing equipment, conveyors are inherently modular systems.

Drives, idlers, discharge points, instrumentation and other components can often be upgraded individually without replacing the entire conveyor. This modularity allows operators to address specific performance issues without modifying the structural build of the system.

Additionally, advancements in materials science and tech have brought improved components and instrumentation to the market, lending efficiency and system transparency.

Strategic upgrades that can revitalize an outdated or underperforming system include instrumentation. It can help operators avoid major upsets by monitoring parameters and alerting operators when something falls out of spec so they can intervene before problems occur. This might include:

■ Plugged-chute switches to indicate a hopper backup

■ Zero-speed switches to indicate when a shaft has stopped moving

■ Belt-alignment switches to alert operators to improper alignment

■ Vibration sensors to identify abnormal operating conditions

■ Temperature sensors for bearings and gear reducers to prevent overheating

■ Oil life, temperature and clarity sensors

Operations evolve over time. New product lines, expanded storage facilities and the reintegration of waste often happen around the existing conveyor system, with new handling met through truck hauling, stack-out piles and new product streams.

In these settings, the addition of a belt tripper or plow can simplify handling challenges by adding discharge points to the existing system. By incorporating additional discharge points, existing conveyors can accommodate the creation of long piles, deposit material into separate storage bays and streamline stockpile management.

Additional discharge points improve the flexibility of existing conveyors without a complete system redesign, reducing rehandling requirements and maximizing storage capacity. This allows a single conveyor to serve multiple stockpiles instead of installing additional parallel conveyors, and it is particularly useful when operations expand stockpile areas or introduce additional product grades.

Dust points and curtains can be added to elevators and conveyors to minimize fugitive dust, helping meet air quality requirements while capturing lost product for reintegration.

In addition to managing dust, several components can be incorporated to minimize spillage, which contributes to safety hazards, housekeeping issues and material loss. The addition of skirtboards, impact cradles, double-apron skirt board rubber and tail-sealing boxes – particularly at load points – can significantly reduce the amount of fugitive material.

Drive assembly design for conveyors and elevators has improved to make systems more practical and efficient. General-purpose motors have better efficiency ratings and turndown ratios, as well as many upgrade options such as premium-efficient, severe-duty, IEEE 841 and explosion-proof ratings.

Gear reducers are now typically shaft-mounted in lieu of foot-mounted, which eliminates the need for a drive base and a low-speed chain. Many configurations exist for mounting the motor to the reducer, such as direct drive, C face, V-belts, fluid couplings or flex couplings. The low-speed shaft of the reducer can either be rigidly coupled or connected via a hollow bore.

While reducers were typically configured inline in the past, they are now commonly selected in a right-angle configuration as a major space-saving option.

Increasing throughput is perhaps the most common reason producers pursue a retrofit. In many cases, modest increases in capacity can be achieved by improving loading conditions, increasing belt speed within design limits or optimizing discharge points. While these changes may not deliver dramatic capacity gains, they can often provide enough additional throughput to delay or avoid full system replacement.

Making targeted improvements to abrasion and corrosion protection can significantly extend the life of equipment. This might include thickening steel or adding abrasion-resistant plate or UHMW liners at high-wear areas, changing out steel idlers for composite idlers or incorporating protective surface treatments where appropriate.

Additional components can be incorporated into existing systems to help protect outdoor material handling systems from the elements. Weather covers can provide some protection from wind and precipitation, while conveyor galleries enclose the entire conveyor – with the inclusion of a walkway – to seal conveyors off from the elements.

As site needs evolve, material handling equipment may also be more difficult to access. By adding service platforms, walkways, ladders and safety cages, operators can improve safety and accessibility for inspections and maintenance needs.

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Komatsu opened a new parts distribution center in St. Albert, Alberta.

The full-service facility is Komatsu’s latest investment in its Canadian operation. The site will serve as a key hub within the company’s North American logistics network.

According to Komatsu, the new facility will expand parts availability, improve distribution efficiency and reduce lead times, enabling dealers to access inventory more quickly and enhance service and support across Canada.

Komatsu hosted a grand opening celebration on Sept. 10, bringing together company leaders, employees, local officials and representatives from its dealer partners. The dealer companies on hand included SMS Equipment, which covers most of Canada; Wilson Equipment in Nova Scotia; and Equipment Sales & Service in southern and central Ontario.

At about 135,000 sq. ft., the new facility doubles Komatsu’s previous warehouse capacity in Canada and enables the company to stock a range of inventory closer to jobsites. The company says the facility improves delivery capabilities across the country and will offer 24-hour delivery to dealers throughout much of Western Canada.

The facility features advanced integration with the company’s global planning and warehouse management system, updated warehouse layout, automation and new equipment designed to improve efficiency and accuracy. Komatsu says the expansion also increases workforce capacity and positions the operation to support future growth and meet demands from Canada’s mining, construction and forestry industries.

“Today, we’re celebrating more than the opening of a new facility,” says Rod Bull, CEO of Komatsu North America. “We’re celebrating a long-term investment in the people and businesses that rely on our equipment, our dealer partners and our employees. The new Edmonton parts distribution center enhances our ability to deliver the right parts at the right time, helping customers stay productive while supporting future growth across Canada.”

Related: Komatsu to open parts distribution facility in Arizona

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BME launched its Vipertron electronic initiation system, a blasting technology designed to give mining operations more precise control of blast timing, rock movement and fragmentation.

According to BME, the system provides programmable delays that support burden-relief-based blast designs, allowing engineers to tailor rock movement and fragmentation to site-specific mining conditions. The company says those controls can help improve blast consistency and downstream activities such as loading and crushing.

“Electronic initiation systems have long been recognized for their ability to deliver significantly greater timing precision than traditional shock-tube systems,” says Nishen Hariparsad, general manager of technology and marketing at BME. “Accurate programmable delays provide far greater control over burden relief, rock movement and fragmentation.”

BME says Vipertron offers timing accuracy with a coefficient of variance of about 0.02 percent, supporting more consistent blast execution and improved vibration control. The system also includes diagnostics and system-integrity testing before blasting to identify potential issues and reduce the likelihood of misfires. Dual communication channels and high-immunity characteristics are intended to support safe operation in demanding mining environments, the company adds.

“While accessibility has been a major design objective, Vipertron retains the technical advantages that define modern electronic initiation,” Hariparsad says.

BME says it developed Vipertron with simplified system architecture and workflows. It is intended to serve as a transition option for operations accustomed to shock-tube and other non-electric initiation practices, with bench procedures and workflows aligned to existing methods.

“Vipertron has been specifically designed as a practical bridge, so operations can adopt electronic initiation through intuitive workflows, straightforward system logic and minimal additional training requirements,” Hariparsad says.

The company says it also focused on cost competitiveness by emphasizing the functions most relevant to blasting operations, aiming to enable a transition to electronic initiation without a significant increase in operating costs.

Related: Drilling & Blasting | P&Q University Handbook

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