Dear JM,

Sorry to break the news to ya, but earthly building materials are actually quite scarce along the whole pacific coast and also along the east coast of this country. Basic problem is NIMBY's and unrealistic environmental regulation. If you research the annual geology reports from various states as well as the various mining and gravel/quarry trade magazines you can find a whole host of information regarding this topic. The USA imports aggregate and cement as well as a long list of other metals, non-metals, and industrial minerals because people don't want a gravel pit or mine in their back yard even though it benefits them and society with highways, airports, buildings, etc. Unfortunately the cost of these materials have gone through the roof because they have to mined, processed, and shipped great distances to serve the needs of our society. Until our society stops with this non-sense, we are going to keep paying the piper. Needlessly waisting more and more dollars to import things that already exist in our backyard. On the other hand, this reinforces the need for railroads as they are an efficient transport mode for the long distance transport of materials from ports and NAFTA neighbors Canada and Mexico.