Non-Metal Mining & Quarrying NAICS 2123

Nov 27, 2025 - Declining Aggregate Production

• Aggregate production dropped 4.4% in the second quarter of 2025, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of decline, the US Geological Survey reported in September. Through the first half of 2025, aggregate production fell by 4.9% across the US, with production declining in 32 of the 40 states measured by USGS. Broken down, production of crushed stone declined 5% compared with Q2 2024. Through six months of the year, USGS says crushed stone production was down 5.5%. Sand and gravel production also fell in Q2, slipping 3.5%. Additionally, USGS noted in its latest report that Portland cement consumption fell 3.8% in Q2, with production through the first half of 2025 down 5.3%. Slower construction and infrastructure spending, rising interest rates, permitting and regulatory hurdles, and workforce shortages are among the reasons for the recent decline in production.
• Year-to-date mining industry fatalities numbered 29 in November, one more than the total from 2024, Pit & Quarry reports citing the latest data from the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA). In mid-October a miner died at a lime facility in an accident the agency classified as a slip or fall of a person. Later in the month, another miner died at a crushed stone operation in Florida that MSHA characterized as a powered haulage accident. Another miner died in a powered haulage accident in November at an underground coal mine in West Virginia due to inundation. Of the 29 fatal mine accidents so far in 2025, nearly half (13) were due to powered haulage. MSHA attributed four fatal accidents this year to machinery. The all-time-low mark for mining fatalities in a single year is 25, the total in 2016.

• Shipments of limestone across the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in August, a 3% drop compared to a year earlier, Pit & Quarry reports. August’s decline follows a decrease of less than 1% in July, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). According to LCA, August’s cargos were below the month’s five-year average by 6.7%. Loadings from US quarries totaled 2.95 million tons, up 1.8% compared to a year ago. Year over year, the Great Lakes limestone trade is down 4% to 16.3 million tons compared to the first eight months of 2024. Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries totaled 13.4 million tons, a decrease of 2.1%. Analysts point to a combination of factors for the recent decline in shipments, including fluctuating construction demand, weather-related shipment delays earlier in the season, and vessel scheduling adjustments, according to World Ports Org.
• Producer prices for non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying firms rose 6% in August compared to a year ago, after rising 6.1% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry producer prices hit another record high in August, extending their 3 ½ year climb. Industry payrolls are also at all-time highs: Employment by non-metal mining and quarrying firms grew 2.4% year over year in July, while average industry wages rose 3.5% over the same period to a new high of $29.77 per hour, BLS data show.