RE:Aggregates from MexicoVMC has the Yukan position - a mega quarry - in Yukatan Peninsula, Maya Riveria which serves Gulf coast and Martin has the Nova Scotia position and they take construction rock into Florida from Nova Scotia.
(I'd writen a more detailed post on this - but it evaporated). Neither company has quarries in Puerto Rico - they both may serve Puerto Rico from Yukatan and Nova respectively.
The Yukatan quarry is a mega operation: 10-12M tpa. A belter.
These positiones exist and are highly profitable because Florida and lower gulf coast is a swamp (with the exception of CEMEX's Dade county quarries - ex Whites, ex-Rinker) - there is no hard rock in the swamp. those are the most profitable quarries in the US - Whites in Dade.
OK, I think the probability of a low cost supplier from Mexico on the Pacific side is low. Why?
1. Don't think anything exists.
2. Not sure what deposit quality is like in Baja California - not sure.
3. Vulcan, Cemex, Hanson, others own San Diego and LA. VMC courtesy of Calmat acquistion (1999) have som thumping quarries south of LA - all rail sided and they have good connectivity, good material, good yards in the greater LA-spread. In short they have a pretty good lock.
4. So the detterant to a mexican deposit being shipped is pretty high. Unlike on the Florida side - its a swamp and needs rock. On the Cali pac side - there are good rock positions there - so the economics for entry from Mexico - no bueno.
5. Let's get to Polaris - and I continue to harp on this - is that Polaris is slowly, steadfastly, intelligentlly, strategically owning the port door to Cali markets - they own the SF Bay - and are putting down roots in LA at the Port of Long Beach. They have indicated in releases they have done a level of DD on other sites in LA and possibly San Diego.
5. (b) Cali being Cali - its probably hard to find a port to drop off aggregate - so very high barrier to entry. Every port/terminal that PLS acquires/develops has HUGE startegic Value in my view - if they end up having 6-8 CA aggregate terminals - I would classify that as extremtly valuable US infrasture.
5 (c) Polaris need to set these ports up, develop the market carefully and get them up to 400,000 tpa - to 1.2M tpa distribution points. Port of Long Beach has shown us it is no easy feet - permits, construction, dredging, governemnt agencies, cali port agencies - it is not easy (see: high barriers to entry).
5 (d) I think PLS are planning to augment the sand/gravel material of ORCA ($13/ton) with hard rock from Eagle Rock (which will sell in Cali for $25/ton)
5 (e) the strategy is to own the port front door to the US's bigest market - and be pushing more materials and higher priced (higher margin) materials through it.
5 (f) - they will have no competitor - I've said earlier this year - there will come a point when PLS's most valuable resource will be the port/terminal network. Sure the rock and sand will be highly valuable also.
5 (g) and this point - a CX, VMC, hanson or peer will want to acquire PLS for three things: its resource (rock), its infrastructure (ports/terminals) and its captive market/customers - and pricing power in the CA markets in agg.
That, is the aggman's, late-night, endgame view.
Its not a quick game either, its classic aggman stuff, its long term, its gradual, its mult-year, it requires patience, it requires custodial skill. Its long termism - and it will be a very rich and fully-valued outcome.