Aggregates overcapacity poses Hanson jobs threat

Quarries could be closed or mothballed as the aggregates sector is suffering overcapacity, Hanson has warned.
A company spokesman told CJ that Hanson has warned its quarry staff that there could be redundancies as its board decides how to cut capacity.
He said: "We've told the workforce that the review is going on and told them their jobs could be affected, but we haven't got to that stage yet."
The company blamed lack of investment in roads for a lull in the market. Demand for aggregates has dropped by approximately one-third over the last 15 years.
The spokesman said: "The government's 10-year plan has fizzled out. The big volume markets are disappearing."
Tarmac aggregate products director Terry Last said the company is experiencing similar problems of overcapacity and has been "rationalising its assets according to demand".
The Quarry Products Association is discussing the aggregates market with the Highways Agency (HA). A spokesman said: "We're in the process of doing something more detailed with the HA. We have raised a number of queries on its business plan."
British Aggregates Association executive officer Richard Bird agreed that road spending has caused a market downturn. He said: "If we were spending as much money on roads per head of population as the rest of Europe, we wouldn't have the problem.
"Quarry firms were encouraged by the government to gear up for roads. The price of stone hasn't gone up that much, so our margins are being squeezed."
The Hanson spokesman said the company is investing in washing and re-screening plant to combat competition from recycled materials, which are exempt from the Aggregates Levy. "The Levy has closed the door on low-grade products. Low grade is being engineered out of construction - these materials are getting stockpiled at the quarries," he said
Hanson closed a brickworks in Essex last week with the loss of 37 jobs, blaming competition from other materials in the industrial build sector.
A spokesman told CJ the company decided to close the Star Lane site in Great Wakering, Essex, after clay reserves for London bricks ran out. He said: "There's too much stock there and we had to make the decision not to go through the planning process for more clay."