Vulcan Materials is the largest producer of construction aggregates in the United States, mining and selling crushed stone, sand and gravel used as the basic raw material in roads, buildings and other construction projects. Aggregates are heavy, low-value-per-ton materials that are expensive to transport over long distances, so Vulcan's business is built around a network of quarries located close to the markets they serve, giving it a strong regional advantage over more distant competitors. The company's products go into virtually every construction project, from highways and bridges built with public infrastructure funding to residential subdivisions and commercial developments funded by private construction spending. Vulcan's revenue and profitability are closely tied to construction activity broadly, including both public infrastructure spending, which tends to be relatively stable, and private construction, which is more sensitive to economic cycles and interest rates.