Commodities

Markets for Shingles, Vinyl Siding Continue to Evolve

Jason Haus of Dem-Con Cos. LLC, Shakopee, Minn., said an end market exists for scrap roofing shingles, provided state transportation agencies could send a green light signal to hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plant operators.

At the 2010 C&D World Conference & Exhibition, which was March 28-30 at the Rio Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Haus outlined how his company went about cooperating with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and HMA plant operators to change his company’s asphalt shingle diversion rate from 3 percent to 75 percent in just four years.

Haus, who noted there are some 11 million tons of scrap asphalt shingles generated annually, says insight he gained from meeting with HMA plant operators convinced him the creation of a permissive spec recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) spec from MnDOT would be a key to gaining acceptance for his product.

In the four-year span from initial meetings to the creation of the spec, Dem-Con also researched and invested in processing methods and conducted numerous tests to assure customers that the presence of asbestos was a rarity and occurred at extremely low levels when it was present. Rich Krock of the Vinyl Institute, Alexandria, Va., remarked that about 76 percent of vinyl consumed goes into building products, such as pipes and fittings, vinyl siding, windows and doors, decking and fencing and flooring.

He said since pipe manufacturers have their own exclusive compound formulas, they often accept only their own products back as scrap. “It’s a little bit of a challenge,” said Krock. Vinyl siding can baled and shipped and was starting to be used by siding manufacturers as a substrate material, said Krock. He singled out CedarBoards vinyl siding made by CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa., which is made from 60 percent recycled material, as an example of this type of siding, which has a recycled-content substrate.

Construction Employment Shows Some Gains

After lengthy declines, a summary from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reports that this spring some states are showing construction employment growth—ideally meaning more work for demo contractors and more materials arriving for recyclers.

Construction employment expanded in 26 states plus the District of Columbia between February and March of 2010, according to an analysis of federal employment figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

In a news release, the AGC says the new figures, while offering room for optimism, also underscore that the industry has a long way to go to fully recover.

“It’s too early to tell whether these numbers reflect the start of a positive trend or the impact of a warm March following a snowy February,” says Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Even assuming the numbers are heading in the right direction, it is a long climb just to get back to normal for the construction industry.”

Simonson says that between February and March 2010, 26 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs. Maryland added the most jobs (5,200 jobs for 3.7 percent growth); followed by Pennsylvania (4,900 jobs for 2.3 percent growth); New York (4,300 jobs for 1.4 percent growth); Missouri (4,100 jobs for 4.1 percent growth); and Indiana (3,500 jobs for 3.1 percent growth).

Among the 22 states that lost construction jobs were Texas (6,300 jobs for a 1.1 percent decline); Nevada (4,600 jobs for a 6.7 percent decline); and Arizona (2,900 jobs for a 2.5 percent decline).