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TOP NEWS NEW TELSMITH FACILITY Telsmith breaks ground on new parts distribution cen��� ter to be located adjacent to its existing manufacturing facilities in Mequon, Wis. VULCAN MATERIALS Vulcan Materials reported an aggregates segment gross profit improvement of $11 million, or 10 percent, reflecting increased pricing and lower unit cost of sales. MARTIN MARIETTA Martin Marietta Materials Inc. announced consolidated net sales of $539.1 million compared with $445.0 million for the third quarter of the year. MSHA WATCH The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration filed 39 requests during fiscal year 2012, more than in any other year, with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission for temporary reinstatements on behalf of miners who submitted complaints of discrimination in the form of a suspension, layoff, discharge or other adverse action. From October 2009 through September 2012, the department filed 79 temporary reinstatement requests ��� an average of 26 per year ��� compared to an average of seven per year from October 1993 to September 2009. Additionally, the department filed a total of 84 discrimination complaints with the commission during the same period, compared to 28 during the three prior years combined. USGS STATS The increase in domestic production of construction materials (cement, construction sand and gravel, and crushed stone) compared with those in the second quarter of 2012 may reflect an increase in construction after several years of decline, according to USGS. Total construction spending during the first three quarters of 2012 was 8.9 percent more than that in the corresponding period of 2011. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012) reported that privately owned housing starts in the first three quarters of 2012 were 26.6 percent higher than those in the first three quarters of 2011. ECONOMIC INDICATORS The value of new construction starts retreated 14 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $434.9 billion, according to McGraw���Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw���Hill Companies. Much of the decline was due to a sharp pullback by the electric power and gas plant category after a robust September. If this volatile project type is excluded from the month���to���month comparisons, total construction starts in October would register a 3 percent gain. Highway construction in October advanced 23 percent. The large increase marked a departure from what has been a declining trend in 2012 for highway construction, which on a year-to-date basis was still down 11 percent. Bridge construction in October retreated 7 percent. ���Contrary to election���year rhetoric, the economy is inching its way to improvement, and the construction industry has not stopped working,��� according to the third quarter 2012 Construction Outlook report by FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry. The industry forecast is calling for an 8 percent increase in total construction put in place for 2013. www.rockproducts.com ENERGY n CRUDE OIL FUTURES $87.18/bbl ��� Up $0.43 from week earlier; down $11.03 from year earlier. n NATURAL GAS FUTURES $3.769/mmBtu ��� Down $0.063 from week earlier; up $0.405 from year earlier. n RETAIL GASOLINE $3.437/gal. ��� Up $0.008 from week earlier; up $0.130 from year earlier. n CRUDE OIL INVENTORIES 374.1 mmbbl ��� Down 0.3 mmbbl from week earlier; up 39.4 mmbbl from year earlier. n WEEKLY COAL PRODUCTION 19.982 million tons ��� Up 0.422 million tons from week earlier; down 1.666 million tons from year earlier. ROCKproducts ��� DECEMBER 2012 1