Aggregate Industry Research Articles

Ultrasonic velocity as a tool for geotechnical parameters prediction within carbonate rocks aggregates

Production of rock aggregates is an important industrial activity. Quality estimation of rock aggregates is often performed with standardized mechanical tests which are intended for testing the products, not the original rock material. In fact, conventional tests dealing with mechanical performance of aggregates (abrasion and fragmentation resistance) are laborious tasks. They are time consuming and require tough laboratory procedures. Thus, there is a need for an effective method to estimate the quality of rock aggregates in the early stages of quarry prospection. This work aims to present a non-destructive ultrasonic technique to characterize mechanical strength of carbonate rock aggregates, mainly defined with Los Angeles (L.A.) and Micro-Deval (M.D.E.) measurements. For experimentation, porosity, density, L.A., and M.D.E. coefficients were calculated for 11 carbonate rock samples. Beforehand, ultrasonic measurements were taken on rock samples using longitudinal P wave with a frequency of 55 kHz. Regression analysis indicated that L.A. and M.D.E. coefficients were linearly correlated with ultrasonic velocity. Similar results were shown for porosity and density. Artificial neural networking was performed to establish a predictive model linking porosity density and ultrasonic velocity to L.A. or M.D.E. measurements. For our knowledge, this is the first paper of a correlation between L.A. and M.D.E. coefficients with ultrasonic velocity. Results have indicated the ability of this technique to elaborate an accurate approach for prediction of mechanical performances determined with laborious experiments on rock aggregates. This paper adds to the knowledge about the wide effectiveness of ultrasonic techniques to predict the quality of aggregates and proves its efficacy in estimating their quality in the early stages of its production, in field and in time, which presents economical benefits for rock aggregate industries.

U.S. Concrete, Inc.

Theresa Alvarez is about to become president of the company her father started, Cordoba Materials, which had initially focused on production and sales within the concrete and aggregates industry, and had grown into a major regional player, with 22 plants and $105 million in annual revenue. One aspect critical to Alvarez's transition is an agreement between her and her father on what her long-term vision for growing Cordoba Materials would be. Would it grow through acquisition or organically? How would it finance its growth? As preparation for these conversations, both Alvarez and her father agreed that an evaluation of the state of the would be in order—that is, a review of what approaches other successful players in the industry were taking to grow their businesses. Alvarez is particularly interested in one business that stands out for its similarities to Cordoba Materials: U.S. Concrete, Inc. (U.S. Concrete). She is intrigued by two varied signals she received from her initial research. On one hand, she admires the rapid vertical expansion of the company's business and the new technology it is applying to its concrete production. Should she follow a similar strategy and search for smaller companies to buy in the region? Or should she be concerned about Cordoba Materials itself being a U.S. Concrete takeover target? This case explores the U.S. concrete and aggregates industry generally and U.S. Concrete's performance specifically, including stock prices, competitor comparisons, certification programs available in the concrete and aggregates field, balance and income statements, and more. Excerpt UVA-C-2431 Dec. 18, 2019 U.S. Concrete, Inc. Our business strategies are (1) market focus, including growing our markets through acquisitions, (2) vertically integrate through aggregates, (3) do what we know, and (4) focus on growing profits. —William J. Sandbrook, U.S. Concrete chairman and CEO (2018) Theresa Alvarez would have some bold decisions to make. She would soon become president of Cordoba Materials, based in Norton, Oklahoma. Her father had built and managed the company since its formation in 1989. He was set to retire by the end of 2020. Cordoba Materials initially focused on production and sales of aggregates, gradually building a ready-mixed business that specialized in serving small businesses. It was now a significant regional player, with 22 plants and $ 105 million in annual revenue. . . .

Post-Merger Changes in Flight Frequency for Network and Low-Cost Carriers

The inventory reallocation between strategic groups is analysed after occurrence of horizontal mergers with little or no overlapping market, to reveal how players in a strategic group create, capture and raise their own, and lower others' value through cooperatively and non-cooperatively interdependent deterrence tactics. The scope is three US airline mergers occurring in 2011, 2013 and 2016. The real-time longitudinal population data was collected to analyse the causal impact of mergers on inventory (i.e., flight frequency as defined in this paper). Then, the industry's flight frequency fluctuations between strategic groups were studied. Our findings show that after mergers, there is little change on the aggregate industry inventory levels. However, a significant inventory reduction in markets where only one strategic group serves, and an obvious build-up in markets where two strategic groups compete with one group focusing on mobility barriers and the other on mutual forbearance.

Post-merger changes in flight frequency for network and low-cost carriers

The inventory reallocation between strategic groups is analysed after occurrence of horizontal mergers with little or no overlapping market, to reveal how players in a strategic group create, capture and raise their own, and lower others' value through cooperatively and non-cooperatively interdependent deterrence tactics. The scope is three US airline mergers occurring in 2011, 2013 and 2016. The real-time longitudinal population data was collected to analyse the causal impact of mergers on inventory (i.e., flight frequency as defined in this paper). Then, the industry's flight frequency fluctuations between strategic groups were studied. Our findings show that after mergers, there is little change on the aggregate industry inventory levels. However, a significant inventory reduction in markets where only one strategic group serves, and an obvious build-up in markets where two strategic groups compete with one group focusing on mobility barriers and the other on mutual forbearance.

Characteristics and determinants of asymmetric phase shifts in China’s manufacturing industrial production cycles

ABSTRACTEmploying a panel of 30 Chinese manufacturing industries from January 2003 through May 2017 (2003M01-2017M05), this study is the first attempt to investigate the characteristics and determinants of asymmetric phase shifts in China’s manufacturing industrial production cycles. The empirical results suggest that China’s manufacturing industries and aggregate industry have experienced similar frequent phase shifts, but remarkable differences exist in the phase shifts across manufacturing industries. Furthermore, China’s manufacturing industries tend to comove between cyclical phases in sync with the aggregate industrial cycle, but the comovement is asymmetric. In addition, the estimation results of the panel logit model indicate that both the spillovers through input-output linkages and some macroeconomic shocks (i.e. monetary policy and financial policy shocks) are significant determinants of China’s manufacturing industrial phase shifts; however, their effects are asymmetric. Finally, suggestions are offered to Chinese policymakers not only to weaken the economic effect of cyclical fluctuations, but also to promote growth in the manufacturing industries.

Protection for maturing industries: Evidence from Canadian trade patterns and trade policy, 1870–1913

AbstractAs industries mature, experience is accumulated, productivity increases, trade performance improves on domestic and international markets and learning potential dissipates. Using theory‐consistent empirical specifications, I find a strong, robust negative relationship linking tariff rates to trade performance for manufactured products that matured during the first decade after Canada prioritized protectionist policy objectives in 1879. This relationship also holds at a more aggregate industry level, where I can use other measures of maturity, control for import penetration, use historically contemporaneous trade elasticity estimates, link trade performance to trade restrictiveness and effective rates of protection and where I can instrument for import penetration and trade performance using a two‐stage IV–GMM estimation approach. The results suggest that after 1890 the Canadian government carefully cut tariffs on products produced by maturing Canadian producers and this retreat from protectionism significantly lowered the static deadweight losses resulting from Canadian trade policy during the post‐1890 period.

Modelling and optimization of an inclined plane classifier using CFD-DPM and the Taguchi method

The inclined plane air classifier is a device designed for the classification of limestone particles. It presents a simple classification mechanism and low energy requirements. Despite its advantages, the industrial application of the classifier has not been reported. This study was carried out to model the classification mechanism inside the inclined plane classifier and to propose its use in the aggregate industry where the adjustment of the particle size distribution of manufactured sands is required. The velocity and pressure fields inside the equipment were modelled using computational fluid dynamics and the particle trajectories were computed using a Lagrangian discrete phase modelling. The collisions between particles were modelled by using the discrete element method. The Taguchi method was used to study the influence of the operational and design variables on the classification performance and to optimize the equipment. The inclined plane classifier was successfully modelled and optimized for the improvement of the particle size distribution of manufactured sands showing excellent results.

Production externalities and investment caps: A welfare analysis under uncertainty

In markets where production has adverse externalities, policy makers may wish to increase welfare by imposing a cap on the aggregate industry output. In this paper, we examine the implications that the cap has on the firms’ investment equilibrium policy and on social welfare in the presence of market uncertainty. In contrast with previous literature, we explicitly model the present externality and then let the social planner choose the cap level maximizing welfare. We find that: i) if the consideration of market uncertainty triggers investment at price above the social marginal cost of production, then it is optimal to have no cap at all; ii) otherwise, the cap should be set at the current aggregate industry output and a ban on further market entries should be announced.

Optimal eco-labeling strategy with imperfectly informed consumers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find the optimal environmental quality criteria for a strategic eco-labeling authority with three objectives (i.e. maximizing the aggregate environmental quality, maximizing the industry profit and maximizing the social welfare). Particularly, the authors investigate how the existence of imperfectly informed consumers affects labeling criteria determination and competition among firms. Design/methodology/approach A game-theoretic modeling approach was adopted in this paper. A three-stage sequential game was modeled and backward induction was used to solve for a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium. To investigate the impacts of the existence of imperfectly informed consumers, the equilibrium, if all consumers are perfectly informed of the eco-label, was studied as a benchmark. Findings A more strict eco-labeling criterion improves revenues for both the labeled and unlabeled firms. It is interesting to find that the eco-labeling criteria to maximize industry profits are stricter than the criteria to maximize social welfare. Moreover, when the fraction of imperfectly informed consumers increases, the eco-labeling criteria to maximize aggregate environmental quality or industry profits will be more strict, while the criteria to maximize the social welfare will be looser. Originality/value The authors analyze the equilibrium strategies for firms against the eco-labeling criteria certified by authority with different objectives. The obtained optimal labeling strategies could provide insightful guidelines for the certifying authority to select the best suitable labeling criteria to achieve its goals.

Endogenous productivity of demand‐induced R&D: evidence from pharmaceuticals

AbstractWe examine trends in the productivity of the pharmaceutical sector over the past three decades. Motivated by Ricardo's insight that productivity and rents are endogenous to demand when inputs are scarce, we examine the industry's aggregate Research and Development (R&D) production function. Using exogenous demand shocks to instrument investments, we find that demand growth can explain a large portion of R&D growth. Returns to scale have been stable, whereas total factor productivity has declined significantly. Predicted rents based on our estimates and Ricardo's theory closely match the trends we observe.

Firm heterogeneity and exports in the Netherlands: Identifying export potential beyond firm productivity

ABSTRACTAccording to the Melitz [2003. ‘The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity.’ Econometrica 71: 1695–1725] model, potential exporters have to be sufficiently productive to overcome the entry costs of foreign markets. Once firms pass this productivity threshold, they all export. However, empirical evidence indicates that a substantial share of highly productive top-performing firms does not export. In this paper, we focus specifically on this group of high-performing non-exporters and identify the factors that prevent them from successfully exporting. We employ a large Dutch administrative dataset containing both small and large firms in services and manufacturing for the period 2010–2016. Our main findings are two-fold. First, controlling for high productivity identifies other factors that need to be fulfilled for exporting firms. Firm size, import status, and foreign ownership are important determinants of a firm’s future export activity. Second, firm location is crucial. A location in more peripheral areas increases the probability that high-productive firms do not export, whereas a location close to the border increases export probabilities.

Dimensionamento do complexo agroindustrial dos estados brasileiros: geração de renda, empregos e impostos

O objetivo do estudo foi dimensionar o complexo agroindustrial das unidades da federação considerando o Produto Interno Bruto, empregos e impostos gerados em quatro agregados (insumos, agropecuária, indústria e serviços). A análise foi feita a partir das matrizes de insumo-produto estaduais do ano de 2008. Os resultados mostraram que os estados do Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás e Rondônia possuíam maior importância do Agronegócio com no mínimo 40% do Produto Interno Bruto estadual, 50% dos empregos e 41% dos impostos indiretos líquidos. A produtividade do trabalho no Agronegócio dos estados do Norte e Nordeste é aproximadamente metade que no Sudeste/Sul do Brasil, o que mostra potencial de investimentos em tecnologia, capital e qualificação profissional. A indústria sofre a maior parte da tributação variando entre 9% e 33% e poderia beneficiar-se de desoneração.

A novel decomposition of aggregate total factor productivity change

An industry is an ensemble of individual firms (decision making units) which may or may not interact with each other. Similarly, an economy is an ensemble of industries. In National Accounts terms this is symbolized by the fact that the nominal value added produced by an industry or an economy is the simple sum of firm-, or industry-specific nominal value added. From this viewpoint it is natural to expect that there is a relation between (aggregate) industry or economy productivity and the (disaggregate) firm- or industry-specific productivities. In an earlier paper (Statistica Neerlandica 2015) three time-symmetric decompositions of aggregate value-added-based total factor productivity change were developed. In the present paper a fourth decomposition will be developed. A notable difference with the earlier paper is that the development is cast in terms of levels rather than indices. Various aspects of this new decomposition will be discussed and links with decompositions found in the literature unveiled. It turns out that one can dispense with the usual neo-classical assumptions.

Evaluation of Iranian Mining and Aggregate Industries

Evaluation of Iranian Mining and Aggregate Industries

A Decade of Alternative Beta

We examine the realized performance of alternative beta strategies using a database of returns since 2008. Despite diversified portfolios of risk premia strategies offered by global investment banks achieving satisfactory Sharpe ratios of 0.80 – 1.07 during the decade to 2017, up to two thirds of the performance can be explained by exposure to traditional benchmarks. Furthermore, the outcomes are very sensitive to the estimated all-in fees incurred by investors. We find no evidence of positive alpha in the aggregate industry returns, and document a pattern of time-varying, asymmetric, and statistically significant betas to global equities and bonds. Our results suggest that the poor performance of the strategies in 2018-20 was not an aberration, but rather a continuation of patterns already present in earlier data. The findings are representative of the wider risk premia industry, as returns of managed alternative risk premia funds and those of diversified investment bank strategy portfolios appear closely aligned.

Organizational complexity and innovation portfolio decisions: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

We examine how a firm's organizational complexity affects innovation portfolio decisions in response to a shock to innovation incentives. Using the 2013 medical device sales tax as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that firms with a complex organization structure, as proxied by organization size and multi-division structure, generate fewer radical innovations (introduction of new products) but more incremental innovations (improvements on existing products) after the tax. Multidivision firms also shift capital investment to their corporate divisions that are not affected by the tax, thereby decreasing their innovation output. Collectively, these responses cause a significant decline in the radical innovation output of the industry in aggregate. We contribute to the literature by advancing the understanding of how organization structure influences managers' innovation portfolio decisions in response to economic shocks.

Оценка эффекта переноса валютного курса рубля в цены производителей конечной продукции на микроданных российских компаний

In this paper we directly estimate exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) to producer prices in some industries of final goods. For this we use survey data on import content of firms' costs according to the survey conducted by the Bank of Russia in yearly 2017. Thus, we contribute to existing ERPT estimates for Russia based on aggregate industry- or economy-wide data. In addition, to account for possible strategic complementarities and variable markups in the estimate of ERPT, we use the survey data and other industry data to calibrate the model by (Amiti, Itskhoki, Konings, 2016). Our results show, first, that ERPT of final goods' producers is around 0,18. Second, according to the survey data, ERPT is asymmetric. It is twice as lower for rouble appreciations as for its depreciations. Third, strategic complementarities in the agriculture and the food producing industry cause ERPT relatively stronger deviate from its direct estimate based on import content in production costs comparing to other industries. The results have important implications for estimating inflation volatility of food products in the consumer basket and for financial well-being of companies in the industries with high strategic complementarity.

Investment marketing strategy for diversified enterprises

Introduction The amount of capital that individual, corporate and institutional investors are willing to invest in certain assets is increasing every year. This leads to a revitalization of entrepreneurial activity and growth of the economy as a whole. It is also very active in creating certain disparities in the distribution of investment flows at the cross-sectoral level. There are industries that perceive investors more positively, and other industries perceive less positively. Among these industries, and even more types of businesses, are diversified companies or conglomerates that are perceived by investors as a chaotic set of assets that management is unable to manage effectively. Purpose The purpose of this article is to study the global trends in managing strategies for competitive advantage in the capital market by diversified enterprises. The purpose of the article is to study the theoretical aspects of management and planning the choice of growth strategy for diversified enterprises; to analyze the systems of strategic management of investment marketing for diversified companies; develop solutions to improve the marketing management system for various companies in the context of attracting investment. Method (methodology) In the course of the research, the following general scientific methods are used: analysis and synthesis, grouping and systematization of revealing the essence of investment marketing, its structure, principles of its formation, development of the concept of diagnostics of efficiency of investor attraction systems and control of this process; induction and deduction - to summarize the theoretical aspects of the peculiarities of the formation of the structure of investment marketing; statistical and economic - to evaluate the investment attractiveness of a diversified enterprise. Results It was suggested to the conglomerate companies to distance their company brand from its subsidiaries as much as possible so that there was no problem in identifying the main focus of the conglomerate's business activity. For the analysis of companies that should be considered for placement of their own and borrowed funds by conglomerates and to demonstrate this investment policy, investors can distinguish the following areas of analysis of potential companies: whether the leadership of a company in a particular segment can lead to the possibility of controlling the pricing of goods or / or company services; whether it is possible to create a competitive business through the attraction of additional investment opportunities. Thus, solving the problem of finances, and more precisely the ability to run a business for a certain time, can bring to positive indicators of profit and return on invested capital; the impact on the aggregate industry reserve of profits, which makes it possible to receive more profit from the industry of related fields from consumers than competitors can, thus ensuring long-term competitiveness. Also regarding the display of client base of goods and services that we can distinguish for investors is: demonstrating the presence of privileged clients; the existence of diversified profit strategies; availability of special copy - protected goods and business models; the presence of unique and difficult to copy distribution and communication channels; the presence of barriers to competitors (patents. Brand, licensing, large investments in market entry, etc.).

The Impact of Bank Credit on Labor Reallocation and Aggregate Industry Productivity

ABSTRACTWe provide evidence that the deregulation of U.S. state banking markets leads to a significant increase in the relative employment and capital growth of local firms with higher productivity, and that this effect is concentrated among young firms. Using financial data for a broad range of firms, our analysis suggests that this effect is driven by a shift in the composition of local bank credit supply toward more productive firms. We estimate that this effect translates into economically important gains in aggregate industry productivity and that changes in the allocation of labor play a central role in driving these gains.

Knowledge transfer in the emerging solar energy sector in Ghana

ABSTRACTThis study reports the results of an exploratory qualitative investigation into knowledge transfer processes within the solar energy industry in Ghana. Our main thesis is that the development of a new economic sector requires diffusion of new technology and knowledge, most often through cross-border inter-firm collaborations. We interviewed 12 solar energy firms operating in the country and 12 users of solar energy. The data were analysed using Tables and statements from the respondents. The results reveal that an increasing number of firms are entering the industry to take advantage of the growing demand for solar energy. There is also a general eagerness among individuals and firms to acquire skills and knowledge, mainly from foreign firms and inter-firm knowledge transfers appear to be facilitated by social ties. However, the degree of inter-firm mobility of workers is currently limited and efforts are not made at aggregate industry level to generate and disseminate knowledge.