This year has been an unusually wet one weather-wise. This was compounded by a highly volatile hurricane season, in which significant damage was done across several U.S. states.
Both producers and manufacturers felt the pain.
“Well-chronicled weather-related events had major impacts on our third-quarter business results,” says Ward Nye, chairman and CEO of Martin Marietta. “Significant July precipitation, together with Tropical Storm Debby in North Carolina, Hurricane Beryl in Texas and Hurricane Helene across much of our Southeast footprint, all occurred during the quarter.”
Several other large producers were impacted by inclement weather in the third quarter – and previous quarters – as well.
“While significant weather disruptions have impacted construction activity through the first nine months of the year, overall demand fundamentals continue to underpin long-term growth,” says Tom Hill, chairman and CEO of Vulcan Materials. “The pricing environment remains positive, and we continue to execute well.”
Anne Noonan, president and CEO of Summit Materials, also notes the company’s third-quarter success in the face of weather challenges.
“Our materials-led portfolio delivered another resilient quarter of financial results, even amid significant rainfall and severe weather events that impacted many of our key markets,” Noonan says. “I’m incredibly proud of our teams that responded safely and with agility to produce an Elevate-era record for EBITDA margins and take valuable steps toward achieving our strategic agenda.”
Dave Stewart, director of marketing at Diamond Z, says after a slow start in the first half of the year, things started to pick up in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Diamond Z, an Idaho-based manufacturer of grinders, trommels and stackers, that coincided with the barrage of hurricanes.
“2024 was definitely a tale of two very different halves,” Stewart says. “While the year started with optimism about new housing starts and infrastructure money getting into circulation, that did not turn out to be the case. That left the first two quarters fairly flat compared to 2023. Things picked up in the third quarter, however, and then the hurricanes hit. That had a huge impact on the entire industry.”
Equipment & technology
Despite some of the challenges 2024 posed, there were a number of bright spots this year – many coming in the equipment and technology realm.
Developments in areas such as telematics, predictive monitoring and maintenance, autonomy and other electrifications helped manufacturers provide the most advanced equipment and technology possible, allowing producers to maximize their operations.
“The aggregate industry continues to shift toward preemptive maintenance, autonomy and real-time monitoring to enhance safety, optimize uptime and reduce costs,” says Patrick Weaver, product line manager for mineral processing at L&H Industrial. “A key trend was the shift toward AI-driven tools capable of qualifying processes in real-time, paired with cost-effective monitoring solutions for legacy equipment, enabling companies to modernize operations without replacing existing assets.”
Not only does this type of preemptive monitoring allow producers and contractors to get ahead of maintenance and avoid extended downtime, but these benefits, in turn, are big cost savers.
Terex MPS, for one, made cost reduction a focus of 2024.
“We’ve prioritized cost reduction, from energy-efficient electric and diesel equipment to optimized processing solutions that lower operational expenses and increase production volumes,” says Russ Burns, sales director at Terex MPS. “As customers look to do more with less, we’ve seen an uptick in higher-capacity equipment and upgrades that deliver simplicity and reliability.”
Stewart says Diamond Z is focused on things similar to L&H and Terex MPS.
“Three years ago, we began adding telematics to all our grinders, and each year, we see customers getting more comfortable with their functionality,” Stewart says. “The biggest benefits to the end user have been maintenance alerts and troubleshooting. Grinders often operate in remote areas. It’s extremely helpful to be able to see what maintenance is upcoming for a machine that is out in the field, or to monitor any alerts or problems via your phone or computer before going on-site.”