Tarmac improve UK market share

DESPITE closing three quarries last year, the Tarmac Group are thought to have increased their share of the UK aggregates market over the last 12 months. The company acquired one new pit and volumes were developed at several existing sites.

This is one of the conclusions of BDS Marketing & Research Ltd’s annual report entitled ‘Estimated outputs of pits, quarries and marine wharves in Great Britain’, which lists all operating sites in the country and is the only published source of information available on volumes.

According to the report, Hanson are the second largest quarrying company, with a market share similar to last year. The closure of one quarry in Cumbria has been compensated by the opening of a new pit in Cambridgeshire.

RMC are the third largest company but BDS believe that some of their market share has been lost recently, and that the acquisition of an independent sand and gravel business in Lincolnshire has not totally compensated for the closure of six other operations.

Aggregate Industries and Lafarge are both thought to have a similar market share to last year.

These top five companies are currently estimated to have 69% of the market, compared with 70.4% a year ago.