ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Aggregate industry in the United States

So, you know how we need a LOT of rocks and sand and gravel for building things like roads, buildings and bridges, right? Well, those rocks and sand and gravel all come from places called quarries, which are like really big pits dug into the ground where workers can get all the materials they need.

All of the quarries put together to make up something called the "aggregate industry." Aggregate means a bunch of things put together. And in this case, it’s a bunch of different types of rocks, sand and gravel that are all mixed together.

The aggregate industry is really important because it provides all those materials that we need for construction. Without it, we wouldn't be able to build homes or schools or hospitals, and our roads and bridges would fall apart.

There are a ton of companies in the United States that work in the aggregate industry. They hire a lot of people to work in the quarries, and they use big machines to dig up the rocks and then crush them into smaller pieces.

After the rocks are crushed, they are sorted by size and used in different ways. The bigger pieces are used for things like highways and airport runways, while the smaller pieces are used for things like making cement and building blocks.

So, in summary, the aggregate industry in the United States is made up of companies that dig up rocks, sand, and gravel from quarries, crush them into smaller pieces, and use them to build all sorts of things like roads, buildings, and bridges that we use every day. It's a really important industry and helps keep our country running!