Crushed stone

Ordinary rock, blasted and crushed in vast tonnages near every city for roads, concrete, cement and lime, and almost never shipped far.

Construction · No. 80

• Not on a critical list

Every city sits on a hidden ring of quarries, because crushed rock is too heavy and cheap to haul far.

Chart: Illustration: Crushed stone

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Ordinary bedrock is drilled, blasted from quarry faces, crushed and screened. In the US, about 70% of 2025 output was limestone and dolomite.

Three things to know

1. The US quarried about 1.5 billion t of crushed stone in 2025 from 3,500 quarries, worth about $27 billion.
2. About 70% of US crushed stone in 2025 was limestone and dolomite, with granite at 14% and traprock at 6%.
3. Norway leads world exports with 11%, because its coastal quarries can load ships directly.

The journey

1. 1 BedrockLimestone, dolomite, granite or traprock
2. 2 BlastingDrilled and blasted from quarry faces
3. 3 CrushingPrimary and secondary crushers break rock
4. 4 ScreeningWashed and sorted into graded sizes
5. 5 Short haulTruck, rail or barge to nearby users
6. 6 UsesRoad base, asphalt, concrete, cement kilns

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