NRMCA Board Chairman Abbott Part of Keynote Lineup at Texas State Convention

NRMCA Board of Directors Chairman Abbott Lawrence took part in the annual meeting of the Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association's (TACA) annual meeting held in mid-June in San Antonio. Lawrence told the TACA audience that in 2019, Texas was No. 1 in spending on roads and highways of all states (New York and California were next in line), which is not surprising given the level of population growth the state has experienced in the past few years. In 2020, he said, Texas producers shipped 61.8 million cubic yards of materials, with California a distant second at 37.8 million cubic yards. Of the top 20 aggregate demand regions in the U.S., Lawrence said four are in Texas – Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio – three are in Florida and two are in California.

The Texas and National Economic Report was presented by Jon Hockenyos, president of TXP, Inc., an economic analysis and public policy consulting firm founded in 1987 in Austin. “While both Texas and the U.S. are close to resuming ‘normal’ activity, a full recovery has yet to occur,” said Hockenyos. “However, in the months to come, I believe we are looking at a new version of the ‘roaring ‘20s,’ due to low interest rates, pent-up demand for travel and social experiences and a lot of stimulus money being pumped into the economy.”

Hockenyos noted that Texas’ dramatic growth – the state currently holds 8.9 percent of the nation’s population and accounts for 32.4 percent of net national population growth in 2020 – has created a huge demand for housing, industrial and warehouse construction, but a slower demand for office, lodging, entertainment and medical facilities, which is largely due to societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. He predicts there will be a rise in public spending in the next few years, benefiting TACA member companies which supply the materials that build the state’s public and private infrastructure, including roads and highways, bridges, schools, hospitals and residential and commercial structures.

Michael Johnson, president & CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), warned that America’s economic competitors are investing strategically in infrastructure as a means to try to take our status as the No. 1 economy in the world just as the quality of our infrastructure continues to decline. “The U.S. got just a C- and Texas only got a C in the American Society of Civil Engineer’s latest Report Card for America’s Infrastructure (issued every four years). We can and must do better.” Johnson is optimistic about Congress passing legislation that will make significant investment in infrastructure this year and cautioned that when that investment does come, regulations “that are not built on sound science” could make it more difficult to access the aggregates and produce the construction material that will be needed.

For more information on the TACA meeting. contact Christian Goff at cgoff@pureenergypr.com or
512-745-0627.