Asphalt Paving and Roofing Materials

SIC 2950

NAICS 32412

This industry group encompasses firms that manufacture asphalt and tar paving mixtures, paving blocks made of asphalt, and various compositions of asphalt or tar with other materials. Using asphalt and tar, industry companies also produce, usually from purchased materials, rolls, shingles, and coatings for roofing. For coverage of concrete paving and building materials, see Concrete, Gypsum, and Plaster Products.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

The fragmented asphalt paving and roofing materials industry comprises a diverse collection of corporations worldwide. Well over 300,000 people were directly employed by the U.S. asphalt industry in the mid-2000s. More than one billion tons of asphalt are produced worldwide every year, of which a substantial portion comes from diversified global corporations loosely associated with the construction and oil industries. Asphalt companies compete with concrete producers for pavement materials market share, though many of the leading asphalt makers sell concrete as well. As of 2004, roughly 96 percent of roads in the United States alone were surfaced with asphalt. The U.S. industry accounted for US$20 billion of the worldwide industry, with 500 million tons of asphalt produced each year.

Environmentalism, particularly regarding the recycling of asphalt products, the most recycled American product in 2004, continues to play a major role in the industry. Recycled asphalt pavement, which has won increasing favor in the United States and Europe, can often constitute up to 35 percent of an asphalt mix, saving taxpayers an estimated US$300 million annually. As environmental concerns have increasingly become an issue of pressing global concern and publicity, a new competitive arena has opened for companies to produce recyclable goods and practice efficient production methods. Environmentalism has also given rise to interest in cool roof systems that reduce roof temperatures in warm climates in an effort to lower energy costs and usage.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

In the United States, more than half of the asphalt produced is used in highway and street pavement. An estimated 25 percent is sold commercially for use in private parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks, while the remainder is used for roofing materials and other applications. Most asphalt producers supply road materials and general road construction as well, and are often subsidiaries of larger diversified corporations. Asphalt paving companies not only compete with each other, but also often vie with concrete producers for contracts. While concrete's primary use in the field of road construction is for new roads, the battle for new construction was about evenly split in the late 1990s. With a 90 percent share, asphalt clearly dominated in terms of resurfacing projects. Similarly, asphalt roofing materials compete with wood, stone, and ceramic tile.

Traditionally, government agencies have dictated how pavement is to be constructed, including specification of the asphalt mix design. The late 1990s, however, witnessed a gradual transformation of this system, whereby road construction contractors have consolidated and initiated the design of asphalt pavement that utilizes the industry's advancing technology to tailor mix designs for particular geographic and logistic variables.

Several organizations, including the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) in the United States and the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA), help to organize and oversee the industry, most prominently in the field of road construction but also in the research, development, and production of asphalt paving materials.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

The use of asphalt, a brownish-black hydrocarbon, dates back at least 5,000 years to the time when Mesopotamian cultures began mining naturally occurring bitumen. The Dead Sea was an ancient source of bitumen. Lumps of the substance often washed up on its shores, giving rise to the Dead Sea's original name, Lake Asphaltites. West Asian societies not only utilized bitumen as a sealant for reservoirs, but also exported it to Egypt, where it was used in that kingdom's famous mummification process. Asphalt further functioned as mortar and caulk and in paving, waterproofing, and paints. Trinidad's Pitch Lake, discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh, became the first large commercial source of bitumen. The first modern asphalt pavement was laid in Paris in 1854 using a natural rock bitumen from Switzerland. Within two decades, this type of road surfacing had spread to Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.

Asphalt shingles also date back to ancient times. These roofing materials, which are made of a paper-like core of felted organic fibers soaked with asphalt, are now described as organic-based asphalt shingles. The paper core of these roofing materials has since been replaced with recycled...

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