Vulcan Materials 10-K 25 Feb 16 2015 FY Annual report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 11, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	VMC
Entity Registrant Name	Vulcan Materials CO
Entity Central Index Key	1,396,009
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		133,181,057
Entity Public Float			$ 9,464,531,960

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME [Abstract]
Total revenues	$ 3,422,181,000	$ 2,994,169,000	$ 2,770,709,000
Cost of revenues	2,564,648,000	2,406,587,000	2,343,829,000
Gross profit	857,533,000	587,582,000	426,880,000
Selling, administrative and general expenses	286,844,000	272,288,000	259,427,000
Gain on sale of property, plant & equipment and businesses	9,927,000	244,222,000	39,250,000
Restructuring charges	(4,988,000)	(1,308,000)	(1,509,000)
Other operating expense, net	(25,850,000)	(20,070,000)	(14,790,000)
Operating earnings	549,778,000	538,138,000	190,404,000
Other nonoperating income (expense), net	(1,678,000)	3,107,000	7,538,000
Interest income	345,000	960,000	943,000
Interest expense	220,588,000	243,367,000	202,588,000
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	327,857,000	298,838,000	(3,703,000)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes
Current	89,340,000	74,039,000	9,673,000
Deferred	5,603,000	17,653,000	(34,132,000)
Total provision for (benefit from) income taxes	94,943,000	91,692,000	(24,459,000)
Earnings from continuing operations	232,914,000	207,146,000	20,756,000
Earnings (loss) on discontinued operations, net of income taxes (Note 2)	(11,737,000)	(2,223,000)	3,626,000
Net earnings	221,177,000	204,923,000	24,382,000
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
Reclassification adjustment for cash flow hedges	5,828,000	4,856,000	2,992,000
Adjustment for funded status of benefit plans	23,832,000	(69,051,000)	111,883,000
Amortization of actuarial loss and prior service cost for benefit plans	11,985,000	2,112,000	11,011,000
Other comprehensive income (loss)	41,645,000	(62,083,000)	125,886,000
Comprehensive income	$ 262,822,000	$ 142,840,000	$ 150,268,000
Basic earnings (loss) per share
Continuing operations	$ 1.75	$ 1.58	$ 0.16
Discontinued operations	(0.09)	(0.02)	0.03
Net earnings	1.66	1.56	0.19
Diluted earnings (loss) per share
Continuing operations	1.72	1.56	0.16
Discontinued operations	(0.08)	(0.02)	0.03
Net earnings	$ 1.64	$ 1.54	$ 0.19
Weighted-average common shares outstanding
Basic	133,210	131,461	130,272
Assuming dilution	135,093	132,991	131,467

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$ 284,060	$ 141,273
Restricted cash		1,150	0
Accounts and notes receivable
Customers, less allowance for doubtful accounts 2015 — $5,576; 2014 — $5,105		397,287	354,935
Other		20,737	18,907
Inventories		347,073	321,804
Current deferred income taxes	[1]	0	39,726
Prepaid expenses		34,284	28,640
Assets held for sale		0	15,184
Total current assets		1,084,591	920,469
Investments and long-term receivables		40,558	41,650
Property, plant & equipment, net		3,156,290	3,071,630
Goodwill		3,094,824	3,094,824
Other intangible assets, net		766,579	758,243
Other noncurrent assets		158,790	154,281
Total assets		8,301,632	8,041,097
Liabilities
Current maturities of long-term debt		130	150,137
Trade payables and accruals		175,729	145,148
Accrued salaries, wages and management incentives		91,440	84,722
Accrued interest		9,752	8,212
Other accrued liabilities		76,428	63,139
Liabilities of assets held for sale		0	520
Total current liabilities		353,479	451,878
Long-term debt		1,980,334	1,834,642
Noncurrent deferred income taxes		681,096	691,137
Deferred management incentive and other compensation		15,980	22,421
Pension benefits		233,661	252,531
Other postretirement benefits		42,318	76,372
Asset retirement obligations		226,594	226,565
Deferred revenue		207,660	213,968
Other noncurrent liabilities		106,322	94,884
Total liabilities		$ 3,847,444	$ 3,864,398
Other commitments and contingencies (Note 12)
Equity
Common stock, $1 par value — Authorized 480,000 shares, Outstanding 133,172 and 131,907 shares, respectively		$ 133,172	$ 131,907
Capital in excess of par value		2,822,578	2,734,661
Retained earnings		1,618,507	1,471,845
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(120,069)	(161,714)
Total equity		4,454,188	4,176,699
Total liabilities and equity		$ 8,301,632	$ 8,041,097
[1]	As discussed in Note 1, we early adopted ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis as of December 31, 2015. Thus, all deferred income taxes as of December 31, 2015 are classified as noncurrent resulting in a $44,464 thousand decrease in current assets with a corresponding decrease in noncurrent liabilities.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS [Abstract]
Customers, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 5,576	$ 5,105
Common stock, par value	$ 1	$ 1
Common stock, shares authorized	480,000,000	480,000,000
Common stock, shares outstanding	133,172,000	131,907,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Operating Activities
Net earnings	$ 221,177,000	$ 204,923,000	$ 24,382,000
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization	274,823,000	279,497,000	307,108,000
Net gain on sale of property, plant & equipment and businesses	(9,927,000)	(244,222,000)	(50,978,000)
Proceeds from sale of future production, net of transaction costs (Note 19)	0	0	153,095,000
Contributions to pension plans	(14,047,000)	(5,488,000)	(4,855,000)
Share-based compensation	18,248,000	23,884,000	22,093,000
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	(18,376,000)	(3,464,000)	(161,000)
Deferred tax provision (benefit)	3,069,000	18,378,000	(35,063,000)
Cost of debt purchase	67,075,000	72,949,000	0
(Increase) decrease in assets before initial effects of business acquisitions and dispositions
Accounts and notes receivable	(42,164,000)	(25,118,000)	(42,260,000)
Inventories	(20,925,000)	(5,595,000)	(7,700,000)
Prepaid expenses	(5,288,000)	(6,256,000)	(765,000)
Other assets	34,863,000	(13,930,000)	12,374,000
Increase (decrease) in liabilities before initial effects of business acquisitions and dispositions
Accrued interest and income taxes	26,605,000	(3,840,000)	(10,937,000)
Trade payables and other accruals	26,491,000	4,229,000	15,485,000
Other noncurrent liabilities	(42,702,000)	(42,810,000)	(26,602,000)
Other, net	(15,544,000)	7,199,000	1,283,000
Net cash provided by operating activities	503,378,000	260,336,000	356,499,000
Investing Activities
Purchases of property, plant & equipment	(289,262,000)	(224,852,000)	(275,380,000)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant & equipment	8,218,000	26,028,000	17,576,000
Proceeds from sale of businesses, net of transaction costs	0	721,359,000	51,604,000
Payment for businesses acquired, net of acquired cash	(27,198,000)	(284,237,000)	(89,951,000)
Increase in restricted cash	(1,150,000)	0	0
Other, net	(350,000)	33,000	(39,000)
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities	(309,742,000)	238,331,000	(296,190,000)
Financing Activities
Proceeds from line of credit	441,000,000	93,000,000	156,000,000
Payments of line of credit	(206,000,000)	(93,000,000)	(156,000,000)
Payments of current maturities and long-term debt	(695,060,000)	(579,829,000)	(150,602,000)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	400,000,000	0	0
Debt and line of credit issuance costs	(7,382,000)	0	0
Purchases of common stock	(21,475,000)	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	0	30,620,000	3,821,000
Dividends paid	(53,214,000)	(28,884,000)	(5,191,000)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	72,971,000	23,502,000	9,762,000
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	18,376,000	3,464,000	161,000
Other, net	(65,000)	(5,000)	0
Net cash used for financing activities	(50,849,000)	(551,132,000)	(142,049,000)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	142,787,000	(52,465,000)	(81,740,000)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	141,273,000	193,738,000	275,478,000
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	$ 284,060,000	$ 141,273,000	$ 193,738,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUI

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Common Stock [Member]	Capital In Excess Of Par Value [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]	Total
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2012	129,721,000
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2012	$ 129,721	$ 2,580,209	$ 1,276,649	$ (225,517)	$ 3,761,062
Net earnings	$ 0	0	24,382	0	$ 24,382
Common stock issued
401(k) Trustee (Note 13), shares	71,000				71,208
401(k) Trustee (Note 13)	$ 71	3,750	0	0	$ 3,821
Share-based compensation plans, shares	408,000
Share-based compensation plans	$ 408	5,485	0	0	5,893
Share-based compensation expense	0	22,093	0	0	22,093
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	0	161	0	0	161
Cash dividends on common stock	0	0	(5,191)	0	(5,191)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	0	0	0	125,886	125,886
Other	$ 0	5	(6)	0	(1)
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2013	130,200,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2013	$ 130,200	2,611,703	1,295,834	(99,631)	3,938,106
Net earnings	$ 0	0	204,923	0	$ 204,923
Common stock issued
Acquisitions, shares	715,000				715,004
Acquisitions	$ 715	44,470	0	0	$ 45,185
401(k) Trustee (Note 13), shares	485,000				485,306
401(k) Trustee (Note 13)	$ 485	30,135	0	0	$ 30,620
Share-based compensation plans, shares	507,000
Share-based compensation plans	$ 507	20,982	0	0	21,489
Share-based compensation expense	0	23,884	0	0	23,884
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	0	3,464	0	0	3,464
Cash dividends on common stock	0	0	(28,884)	0	(28,884)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	0	0	0	(62,083)	(62,083)
Other	$ 0	23	(28)	0	(5)
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2014	131,907,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2014	$ 131,907	2,734,661	1,471,845	(161,714)	4,176,699
Net earnings	$ 0	0	221,177	0	221,177
Common stock issued
Share-based compensation plans, shares	1,493,000
Share-based compensation plans	$ 1,493	51,240	0	0	52,733
Purchase and retirement of common stock, shares	(228,000)
Purchase and retirement of common stock	$ (228)	0	(21,251)	0	(21,479)
Share-based compensation expense	0	18,248	0	0	18,248
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	0	18,376	0	0	18,376
Cash dividends on common stock	0	0	(53,214)	0	(53,214)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	0	0	0	41,645	41,645
Other	$ 0	53	(50)	0	3
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2015	133,172,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2015	$ 133,172	$ 2,822,578	$ 1,618,507	$ (120,069)	$ 4,454,188

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQU7

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY [Abstract]
Cash dividends on common stock, per share	$ 0.40	$ 0.22	$ 0.04

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTI

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTE 1: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES NATURE OF OPERATIONS Vulcan Materials Company (the "Company," "Vulcan," "we," "our"), a New Jersey corporation, is the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We operate primarily in the United States and our principal product — aggregates — is used in virtually all types of public and private construction projects and in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We serve markets in twenty states, Washington D.C., and the local markets surrounding our operations in Mexico and the Bahamas. Our primary focus is serving states in metropolitan markets in the United States that are expected to experience the most significant growth in population, households and employment. These three demographic factors are significant drivers of demand for aggregates. While aggregates is our focus and primary business, we produce and sell asphalt mix and/or ready-mixed concrete in our mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Southwestern and Western markets. Due to the 2005 sale of our Chemicals business as described in Note 2, the operating results of the Chemicals business are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Vulcan Materials Company and all our majority or wholly-owned subsidiary companies. All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. USE OF ESTIMATES IN THE PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The preparation of these financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted (GAAP) in the United States of America requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the related disclosures of contingent assets and contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements. We evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and base our estimates on historical experience, current conditions and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities as well as identifying and assessing the accounting treatment with respect to commitments and contingencies. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates. The most significant estimates included in the preparation of these financial statements are related to goodwill and long-lived asset impairments, reclamation costs, pension and other postretirement benefits, environmental compliance, claims and litigation including self-insurance, and income taxes. BUSINESS COMBINA TIO NS We account for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. The total cost of acquisitions is allocated to the underlying identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. Determining the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. RESTRU CTURING CHARGES Costs associated with restructuring our operations include severance and related charges to eliminate a specified number of employee positions, costs to relocate employees, contract cancellation costs and charges to vacate facilities and consolidate operations. Relocation, contract cancellation costs and charges to vacate facilities are recognized in the period the liability is incurred. Severance charges for employees, who are required to render service beyond a minimum retention period, generally more than 60 days, are recognized ratably over the retention period; otherwise, the full severance charge is recognized on the date a detailed restructuring plan has been authorized by management and communicated to employees. In 2014, we announced changes to our executive management team, and a new divisional organization structure that was effective January 1, 2015. During 2015 and 2014, we incurred $4,988,000 and $1,308,000 , respectively, of costs related to these initiatives. We do not expect to incur any future material charges related to these initiatives. During 2013, we incurred $1,509,000 of severance costs related to the implementation of a 2012 profit enhancement plan. CASH EQUIVALENTS We classify as cash equivalents all highly liquid securities with a maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase. The carrying amount of these securities approximates fair value due to their short-term maturities. ACCOUNTS AND NOTES RECEIVABLE Accounts and notes receivable from customers result from our extending credit to trade customers for the purchase of our products. The terms generally provide for payment within 30 days of being invoiced. On occasion, when necessary to conform to regional industry practices, we sell product under extended payment terms, which may result in either secured or unsecured short-term notes; or, on occasion, notes with durations of less than one year are taken in settlement of existing accounts receivable. Other accounts and notes receivable result from short-term transactions (less than one year) other than the sale of our products, such as interest receivable; insurance claims; freight claims; tax refund claims; bid deposits or rents receivable. Receivables are aged and appropriate allowances for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense are recorded. Bad debt expense for the years ended December 31 was as follows: 2015 — $1,450,000 , 2014 — $2,031,000 and 2013 — $602,000 . Write-offs of accounts receivables for the years ended December 31 were as follows: 2015 — $1,483,000 , 2014 — $2,561,000 and 2013 — $1,946,000 . INVENTORIES Inventories and supplies are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method of valuation for most of our inventories because it results in a better matching of costs with revenues. Such costs include fuel, parts and supplies, raw materials, direct labor and production overhead. An actual valuation of inventory under the LIFO method can be made only at the end of each year based on the inventory levels and costs at that time. Accordingly, interim LIFO calculations are based on our estimates of expected year-end inventory levels and costs and are subject to the final year-end LIFO inventory valuation. Substantially all operating supplies inventory is carried at average cost. For additional information regarding our inventories see Note 3. PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT Property, plant & equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization. The cost of properties held under capital leases, if any, is equal to the lower of the net present value of the minimum lease payments or the fair value of the leased property at the inception of the lease. Capitalized software costs of $7,003,000 and $8,753,000 are reflected in net property, plant & equipment as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We capitalized software costs for the years ended December 31 as follows: 2015 — $1,482,000 , 2014 — $921,000 and 2013 — $1,695,000 . For additional information regarding our property, plant & equipment see Note 4. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE Repair and maintenance costs generally are charged to operating expense as incurred. Renewals and betterments that add materially to the utility or useful lives of property, plant & equipment are capitalized and subsequently depreciated. Actual costs for planned major maintenance activities, related primarily to periodic overhauls on our oceangoing vessels, are capitalized and amortized to the next overhaul. DEPRECIATION, DEPLETION, ACCRETION AND AMORTIZATION Depreciation is generally computed by the straight-line method at rates based on the estimated service lives of the various classes of assets, which include machinery and equipment ( 3 to 25 years), buildings ( 7 to 20 years) and land improvements ( 8 to 20 years). Capitalized software costs are included in machinery and equipment and are depreciated on a straight-line basis beginning when the software project is substantially complete. Cost depletion on depletable land is computed by the unit-of-production method based on estimated recoverable units. Accretion reflects the period-to-period increase in the carrying amount of the liability for asset retirement obligations. It is computed using the same credit-adjusted, risk-free rate used to initially measure the liability at fair value. Leaseholds are amortized over varying periods not in excess of applicable lease terms or estimated useful lives. Amortization of intangible assets subject to amortization is computed based on the estimated life of the intangible assets. A significant portion of our intangible assets is contractual rights in place associated with zoning, permitting and other rights to access and extract aggregates reserves. Contractual rights in place associated with aggregates reserves are amortized using the unit-of-production method based on estimated recoverable units. Other intangible assets are amortized principally by the straight-line method. Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization expense for the years ended December 31 is outlined below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization Depreciation $ 228,866 $ 239,611 $ 271,180 Depletion 18,177 16,741 13,028 Accretion 11,474 11,601 10,685 Amortization of leaseholds 688 578 483 Amortization of intangibles 15,618 10,966 11,732 Total $ 274,823 $ 279,497 $ 307,108 DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS We periodically use derivative instruments to manage our mix of fixed-rate and floating-rate debt and to manage our exposure to cu rrency exchange risk or price fluctuations on commodity energy sources consistent with our risk management policies. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes. Additional disclosures regarding our derivative instruments are presented in Note 5. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels as described below: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities Level 2: Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data Level 3: Inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement Our assets at December 31 subject to fair value measurement on a recurring basis are summarized below: Level 1 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Mutual funds $ 11,472 $ 15,532 Equities 8,992 11,248 Total $ 20,464 $ 26,780 Level 2 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Common/collective trust funds $ 2,124 $ 1,415 Total $ 2,124 $ 1,415 We have established two Rabbi Trusts for the purpose of providing a level of security for the employee nonqualified retirement and deferred compensation plans and for the directors' nonqualified deferred compensation plans. The fair values of these investments are estimated using a market approach. The Level 1 investments include mutual funds and equity securities for which quoted prices in active markets are available. Level 2 investments are stated at estimated fair value based on the underlying investments in those funds (short-term, highly liquid assets in commercial paper, short-term bonds and certificates of deposit). Net gains (losses) of the Rabbi Trust investments were $(1,517,000) , $1,169,000 and $4,398,000 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The portions of the net gains (losses) related to investments still held by the Rabbi Trusts at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $(1,769,000) , $(1,049,000) and $4,234,000 , respectively. The carrying values of our cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts and notes receivable, short-term debt, trade payables and accruals, and all other current liabilities approximate their fair values because of the short-term nature of these instruments. Additional disclosures for derivative instruments and interest-bearing debt are presented in Notes 5 and 6, respectively. There were no assets or liabilities subject to fair value measurement on a nonrecurring basis in 2013. Assets that were subject to fair value measurement on a nonrecurring basis in 2015 and 2014 are summarized below: Year ending December 31, 2015 Year ending December 31, 2014 Impairment Impairment in thousands Level 2 Charges Level 2 Charges Fair Value Nonrecurring Property, plant & equipment $ 0 $ 2,176 $ 2,172 $ 3,095 Other intangible assets, net 0 2,858 0 0 Other assets 0 156 0 0 Totals $ 0 $ 5,190 $ 2,172 $ 3,095 We recorded $5,190,000 and $3,095,000 of losses on impairment of long-lived assets (reported within other operating expenses, net in our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income) in 2015 and 2014, respectively, reducing the carrying value of these assets to their estimated fair values of $0 and $2,172,000 . Fair value was estimated using a market approach (observed transactions involving comparable assets in similar locations). GOODWILL AND GOODWILL IMPAIRMENT Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of net assets acquired in business combinations over the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Goodwill impairment exists when the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. As of December 31, 2015, goodwill totaled $3,094,824,000 , the same as at December 31, 2014. Goodwill represents 37% of total assets at December 31, 2015 compared to 38% as of December 31, 2014. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually, as of November 1, or more frequently whenever events or changes in circumstances would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level, one level below our operating segments. We have four operating segments organized around our principal product lines: Aggregates, Asphalt Mix, Concrete and Calcium. Within these four operating segments, we have identified 18 reporting units (of which 9 carry goodwill) based primarily on geographic location. We have the option of either assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the carrying value of our reporting units exceeds their respective fair value or proceeding directly to a two-step quantitative test. We elected to perform the quantitative impairment test for all years presented. The first step of the quantitative impairment test identifies potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill of the reporting unit is not considered impaired and the second step of the impairment test is not required. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the quantitative impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by hypothetically allocating the fair value of the reporting unit to its identifiable assets and liabilities in a manner consistent with a business combination, with any excess fair value representing implied goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The results of the first step of the annual impairment tests performed as of November 1, 2015, 2014 and 2013 indicated that the fair values of all reporting units with goodwill substantially exceeded their carrying values. Accordingly, there were no charges for goodwill impairment in the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 or 2013. We estimate the fair values of the reporting units using both an income approach (which involves discounting estimated future cash flows) and a market approach (which involves the application of revenue and EBITDA multiples of comparable companies). Determining the fair value of our reporting units involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions and considerable management judgment. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable at the time, but such assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainty and actual results may differ. Changes in key assumptions or management judgment with respect to a reporting unit or its prospects, which may result from a change in market conditions, market trends, interest rates or other factors outside of our control, or underperformance relative to historical or projected operating results, could result in a significantly different estimate of the fair value of our reporting units, which could result in an impairment charge in the future. For additional information regarding goodwill see Note 18. IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS EXCLUDING GOODWILL We evaluate the carrying value of long-lived assets, including intangible assets subject to amortization, when events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. The carrying value of long-lived assets is considered impaired when the estimated undiscounted cash flows from such assets are less than their carrying value. In that event, we recognize a loss equal to the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value. Fair value is determined primarily by using a discounted cash flow methodology that requires considerable judgment and assumptions. Our estimate of net future cash flows is based on historical experience and assumptions of future trends, which may be different from actual results. We periodically review the appropriateness of the estimated useful lives of our long-lived assets. We test long-lived assets for impairment at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets. As a result, our long-lived asset impairment test is at a significantly lower level than the level at which we test goodwill for impairment. In markets where we do not produce downstream products (e.g., asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete), the lowest level of largely independent identifiable cash flows is at the individual aggregates operation or a group of aggregates operations collectively serving a local market. Conversely, in vertically integrated markets, the cash flows of our downstream and upstream businesses are not largely independently identifiable as the selling price of the upstream products (aggregates) determines the profitability of the downstream business. As of December 31, 2015, net property, plant & equipment represents 38% of total assets, while net other intangible assets represents 9% of total assets. During 2015, we recorded a $5,190,000 loss on impairment of long-lived assets related to exiting a lease for an aggregates site . During 2014, we recorded a $3,095,000 loss on impairment of long-lived assets related primarily to assets retained in the divestiture of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19). We recorded no asset impairments during 2013. For additional information regarding long-lived assets and intangible assets see Notes 4 and 18. TOTAL REVENUES AND REVENUE RECOGNITION Total revenues include sales of product to customers, net of any discounts and taxes, and freight and delivery revenues billed to customers. Freight and delivery generally represents pass-through transportation we incur (including our administrative costs) and pay to third-party carriers to deliver our products to customers. The cost related to freight and delivery is included in cost of revenues. Revenue is recognized at the time the selling price is fixed, the product's title is transferred to the buyer and collectibility of the sales proceeds is reasonably assured (typically occurs when finished products are shipped to the customer). SALES TAXES Sales taxes collected from customers are recorded as liabilities (within other accrued liabilities) until remitted to taxing authorities and therefore, are not reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. DEFERRED REVENUE In 2013 and 2012, we sold a percentage interest in future production structured as volumetric production payments (VPPs). The VPPs: § relate to eight quarries in Georgia and South Carolina § provide the purchaser solely with a nonoperating percentage interest in the subject quarries’ future production from aggregates reserves § are both time and volume limited § contain no minimum annual or cumulative production or sales volume, nor minimum sales price, guarantees Our consolidated total revenues excludes the sales of aggregates owned by the VPP purchaser. We received net cash proceeds from the sale of the VPPs of $153,282,000 and $73,644,000 for the 2013 and 2012 transactions, respectively. These proceeds were recorded as deferred revenue on the balance sheet and are amortized to revenue on a unit-of-sales basis over the terms of the VPPs (expected to be approximately 25 years, limited by volume rather than time). Reconciliation of the deferred revenue balances (current and noncurrent) is as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Deferred Revenue Balance at beginning of year $ 219,968 $ 224,743 $ 73,583 Cash received and revenue deferred 0 187 153,156 Amortization of deferred revenue (5,908) (4,962) (1,996) Balance at end of year $ 214,060 $ 219,968 $ 224,743 Based on expected s ales from the specified quarries, we expect to recognize approximately $6,400,000 of deferred revenue as income i n 2 01 6 (reflected in other accrued liabilities in our 2015 Consolidated Balance Sheet). STRIPPING COSTS In the mining industry, the costs of removing overburden and waste materials to access mineral deposits are referred to as stripping costs. Stripping costs incurred during the production phase are considered costs of extracted minerals under our inventory costing system, inventoried, and recognized in cost of sales in the same period as the revenue from the sale of the inventory. The production stage is deemed to begin when the activities, including removal of overburden and waste material that may contain incidental saleable material, required to access the saleable product are complete. Stripping costs considered as production costs and included in the costs of inventory produced were $50,409,000 in 2015, $44,896,000 in 2014 and $41,716,000 in 2013. Conversely, stripping costs incurred during the development stage of a mine (pre-production stripping) are excluded from our inventory cost. Pre-production stripping costs are capitalized and reported within other noncurrent assets in our accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Capitalized pre-production stripping costs are expensed over the productive life of the mine using the unit-of-production method. Pre-production stripping costs included in other noncurrent assets were $61,369,000 as of December 31, 2015 and $44,035,000 as of December 31, 2014. This year-over-year increase resulted primarily from the removal of overburden at a greenfield site in California. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION We account for share-based compensation awards using fair-value-based measurement methods. These result in the recognition of compensation expense for all share-based compensation awards based on their fair value as of the grant date. Compensation cost is recognized over the requisite service period. We receive an income tax deduction for share-based compensation equal to the excess of the market value of our common stock on the date of exercise or issuance over the exercise price. Tax benefits resulting from tax deductions in excess of the compensation cost recognized (excess tax benefits) are classified as financing cash flows. The $18,376,000 , $3,464,000 , and $161,000 in excess tax benefits classified as financing cash inflows for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows relate to the exercise of stock options and issuance of shares under long-term incentive plans. A summary of the estimated future compensation cost (unrecognized compensation expense) as of December 31, 2015 related to share-based awards granted to employees under our long-term incentive plans is presented below: Unrecognized Expected Compensation Weighted-average dollars in thousands Expense Recognition (Years) Share-based Compensation SOSARs 1 $ 4,882 1.6 Performance and restricted shares 22,271 2.5 Total/weighted-average $ 27,153 2.3 1 Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights (SOSARs) Pretax compensation expense related to our employee share-based compensation awards and related income tax benefits for the years ended December 31 are summarized below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Employee Share-based Compensation Awards Pretax compensation expense $ 16,362 $ 22,217 $ 20,187 Income tax benefits 6,347 8,571 7,833 For additional information regarding share-based compensation, see Note 11 under the caption Share-based Compensation Plans. RECLAMATION COSTS Reclamation costs resulting from normal use of long-lived assets are recognized over the period the asset is in use when there is a legal obligation to incur these costs upon retirement of the assets. Additionally, reclamation costs resulting from normal use under a mineral lease are recognized over the lease term when there is a legal obligation to incur these costs upon expiration of the lease. The obligation, which cannot be reduced by estimated offsetting cash flows, is recorded at fair value as a liability at the obligating event date and is accreted through charges to operating expenses. This fair value is also capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the underlying asset and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset. If the obligation is settled for other than the carrying amount of the liability, a gain or loss is recognized on settlement. To determine the fair value of the obligation, we estimate the cost ( including a reasonable profit margin) for a third party to perform the legally required reclamation tasks. This cost is then increased for both future estimated inflation and an estimated market risk premium related to the estimated years to settlement. Once calculated, this cost is discounted to fair value using present value techniques with a credit-adjusted, risk-free rate commensurate with the estimated years to settlement. In estimating the settlement date, we evaluate the current facts and conditions to determine the most likely settlement date. If this evaluation identifies alternative estimated settlement dates, we use a weighted-average settlement date considering the probabilities of each alternative. We review reclamation obligations at least annually for a revision to the cost or a change in the estimated settlement date. Additionally, reclamation obligations are reviewed in the period that a triggering event occurs that would result in either a revision to the cost or a change in the estimated settlement date. Examples of events that would trigger a change in the cost include a new reclamation law or amendment of an existing mineral lease. Examples of events that would trigger a change in the estimated settlement date include the acquisition of additional reserves or the closure of a facility. The carrying value of these obligations was $226,594,000 as of December 31, 2015 and $226,565,000 as of December 31, 2014. For additional information regarding reclamation obligations (referred to in our financial statements as asset retirement obligations) see Note 17. PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS Accounting for pension and postretirement benefits requires that we make significant assumptions regarding the valuation of benefit obligations and the performance of plan assets. The primary assumptions are as follows: § Discount Rate — The discount rate is used in calculating the present value of projected benefit payments § Expected Return on Plan Assets — The expected future return on plan assets reduces the recorded net benefit costs § Rate of Compensation Increase — Annual pay increases after 2015 will not increase our pension plan obligations as a result of a 2013 plan amendment § Rate of Increase in the Per Capita Cost of Covered Healthcare Benefits — Increases in the per capita cost after 2015 will not increase our postretirement medical benefits obligation as a result of a 2012 plan amendment to cap medical coverage cost at the 2015 level Accounting standards provide for the delayed recognition of differences between actual results and expected or estimated results. This delayed recognition of actual results allows for a smoothed recognition in earnings of changes in benefit obligations and asset performance. The differences between actual results and expected or estimated results are recognized in full in other comprehensive income. Amounts recognized in other comprehensive income are reclassified to earnings in a systematic manner over the average remaining service period of participants for our active plans or the average remaining lifetime of participants for our inactive plans. For additional information regarding pension and other postretirement benefits see Note 10. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE Our environmental compliance costs are undiscounted and include the cost of ongoing monitoring programs, the cost of remediation efforts and other similar costs. We accrue costs for environmental assessment and remediation efforts when we determine that a liability is probable and we can reasonably estimate the cost. At the early stages of a remediation effort, environmental remediation liabilities are not easily quantified due to the uncertainties of various factors. The range of an estimated remediation liability is defined and redefined as events in the remediation effort occur, but generally liabilities are recognized no later than completion of the remedial feasibility study. When we can estimate a range of probable loss, we accrue the most likely amount. In the event that no amount in the range of probable loss is considered most likely, the minimum loss in the range is accrued. As of December 31, 2015, the spread between the amount accrued and the maximum loss in the range for all sites for which a range can be reasonably estimated was $3,154,000 . Accrual amounts may be based on technical cost estimations or the professional judgment of experienced environmental managers. Our Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Management Committee routinely reviews cost estimates and key assumptions in response to new information, such as the kinds and quantities of hazardous substances, available technologies and changes to the parties participating in the remediation efforts. H owever, a number of factors, including adverse agency rulings and encountering unanticipated conditions as remediation efforts progress, may cause actual results to differ materially from accrued costs. For additional information regarding environmental compliance costs see Note 8. CLAIMS AND LITIGATION INCLUDING SELF-INSURANCE We are involved with claims and litigation, including items covered under our self-insurance program. We are self-insured for losses related to workers' compensation up to $2,000,000 per occurrence and automotive and general/product liability up to $3,000,000 per occurrence. We have excess coverage on a per occurrence basis beyond these retention levels. Under our self-insurance program, we aggregate certain claims and litigation costs that are reasonably predictable based on our historical loss experience and accrue losses, including future legal defense costs, based on actuarial studies. Certain claims and litigation costs, due to their unique nature, are not included in our actuarial studies. We use both internal and outside legal counsel to assess the probability of loss, and establish an accrual when the claims and litigation represent a probable loss and the cost can be reasonably estimated. For matters not include

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS [Abstract]
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	NOTE 2: DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS In 2005, we sold substantially all the assets of our Chemicals business to Basic Chemicals, a subsidiary of Occidental Chemical Corporation. In addition to the initial cash proceeds, Basic Chemicals was required to make payments under two earn-out agreements. During 2013, we received the final payment under the 5CP earn-out of $13,031,000 . We were liable for a cash transaction bonus payable annually to certain former key Chemicals employees based on the prior year’s earn-out results. Payments for the transaction bonus were $1,303,000 in 2013. The financial results of the Chemicals business are classified as discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for all periods presented. There were no revenues from discontinued operations for the years presented. Results from discontinued operations are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Discontinued Operations Pretax loss $ (19,326) $ (3,683) $ (5,744) Gain on disposal, net of transaction bonus 0 0 11,728 Income tax (provision) benefit 7,589 1,460 (2,358) Earnings (loss) on discontinued operations, net of income taxes $ (11,737) $ (2,223) $ 3,626 The 2015, 2014 and 2013 pretax losses from discontinued operations of $19,326,000 , $3,683,000 and $5,744,000 , respectively, include charges related to general and product liability costs, including legal defense costs, and environmental remediation costs associated with our former Chemicals business. The current year’s increased loss resulted primarily from charges associated with the Lower Passaic and Texas Brine matters as further discussed in Note 12.

INVENTORIES

INVENTORIES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INVENTORIES [Abstract]
INVENTORIES	NOTE 3: INVENTORIES Inventories at December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Inventories Finished products 1 $ 297,925 $ 275,172 Raw materials 21,765 19,741 Products in process 1,008 1,250 Operating supplies and other 26,375 25,641 Total $ 347,073 $ 321,804 1 Includes inventories encumbered by the purchaser's percentage of vo lumetric production payment s (see Note 1, Deferred Revenue), as follows: December 31, 2015 — $ 4,452 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $ 4,792 thousand. In addition to the inventory balances presented above, as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, we have $14,995,000 and $17,449,000 , respectively, of inventory classified as long-term assets (other noncurrent assets) as we do not expect to sell the inventory within one year of their respective balance sheet dates. Inventories valued under the LIFO method total $242,147,000 at December 31, 2015 and $232,371,000 at December 31, 2014. During 2015, 2014 and 2013, inventory reductions resulted in liquidations of LIFO inventory layers carried at lower costs prevailing in prior years as compared to current-year costs. The effect of the LIFO liquidation on 2015 results was to decrease cost of revenues by $3,284,000 and increase net earnings by $2,010,000 . The effect of the LIFO liquidation on 2014 results was to decrease cost of revenues by $2,686,000 and increase net earnings by $1,650,000 . The effect of the LIFO liquidation on 2013 results was to decrease cost of revenues by $1,310,000 and increase net earnings by $802,000 . Estimated current cost exceeded LIFO cost at December 31, 2015 and 2014 by $169,257,000 and $181,633,000 , respectively. We use the LIFO method of valuation for most of our inventories as it results in a better matching of costs with revenues. We provide supplemental income disclosures to facilitate comparisons with companies not on LIFO. The supplemental income calculation is derived by tax-effecting the change in the LIFO reserve for the periods presented. If all inventories valued at LIFO cost had been valued under the methods (substantially average cost) used prior to the adoption of the LIFO method, the approximate effect on net earnings would have been a decrease of $(7,614,000) in 2015, an increase of $19,108,000 in 2014 and an i ncrease of $20,812,000 in 2013.

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT [Abstract]
PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT	NOTE 4: PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT Balances of major classes of assets and allowances for depreciation, depletion and amortization at December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Property, Plant & Equipment Land and land improvements 1 $ 2,305,801 $ 2,273,874 Buildings 124,950 126,833 Machinery and equipment 4,124,808 3,952,423 Leaseholds 14,143 13,451 Deferred asset retirement costs 166,252 163,644 Construction in progress 155,333 78,617 Total, gross $ 6,891,287 $ 6,608,842 Less allowances for depreciation, depletion and amortization 3,734,997 3,537,212 Total, net $ 3,156,290 $ 3,071,630 1 Includes depletable land, as follows: December 31, 2015 — $ 1,296,211 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $1,287,225 thousand. Capitalized interest costs with respect to qualifying construction projects and total interest costs incurred before recognition of the capitalized amount for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Capitalized interest cost $ 2,930 $ 2,092 $ 1,089 Total interest cost incurred before recognition of the capitalized amount 223,518 245,459 203,677

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS [Abstract]
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS	NOTE 5: DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS During the normal course of operations, we are exposed to market risks including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices. From time to time, and consistent with our risk management policies, we use derivative instruments to balance the cost and risk of such expenses. We do not utilize derivative instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. The accounting for gains and losses that result from changes in the fair value of derivative instruments depends on whether the derivatives have been designated and qualify as hedging instruments and the type of hedging relationship. The interest rate swap agreements described below were designated as either cash flow hedges or fair value hedges. The changes in fair value of our interest rate swap cash flow hedges are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) and are reclassified into interest expense in the same period the hedged items affect earnings. The changes in fair value of our interest rate swap fair value hedges are recorded as interest expense consistent with the change in the fair value of the hedged items attributable to the risk being hedged. CASH FLOW HEDGES During 2007, we entered into fifteen forward starting interest rate locks on $1,500,000,000 of future debt issuances in order to hedge the risk of higher interest rates. Upon the 2007 and 2008 issuances of the related fixed-rate debt, underlying interest rates were lower than the rate locks and we terminated and settled these forward starting locks for cash pay ments of $89,777,000 . This amount was booked to AOCI and is being amortized to interest expense over the term of the related debt. This amortization was reflected in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31 as follows: in thousands Location on Statement 2015 2014 2013 Cash Flow Hedges Loss reclassified from AOCI (effective portion) Interest expense $ (9,759) $ (7,988) $ (5,077) The loss reclassified from AOCI for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 includes the acceleration of a proportional amount of the deferred loss in the amount of $7,208,000 and $3,762,000 , respectively, referable to the debt purchases as described in Note 6. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2016, we estimate that $2,008,000 of the pretax loss in AOCI will be reclassified to earnings. FAIR VALUE HEDGES In June 2011, we issued $500,000,000 of 6.50% fixed-rate notes due in 2016 to refinance near term floating-rate debt. Concurrently, we entered into interest rate swap agreements in the stated amount of $500,000,000 to reestablish the pre-refinancing mix of fixed- and floating-rate debt. Under these agreements, we paid 6-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus a spread of 4.05% and received a fixed interest rate of 6.50% . Additionally, in June 2011, we entered into interest rate swap agreements on our $150,000,000 of 10.125% fixed-rate notes due in 2015. Under these agreements, we paid 6-month LIBOR plus a spread of 8.03% and received a fixed interest rate of 10.125% . In August 2011, we terminated and settled these interest rate swap agreements for $25,382,000 of cash proceeds. The $23,387,000 gain component of the settlement (cash proceeds less $1,995,000 of accrued interest) was added to the carrying value of the related debt and is being amortized as a reduction to interest expense over the terms of the related debt using the effective interest method. This deferred gain amortization was reflected in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31 as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Deferred Gain on Settlement Amortized to earnings as a reduction to interest expense $ 3,036 $ 10,674 $ 4,334 The amortized deferred gain for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 includes the acceleration of a proportional amount of the deferred gain in the amount of $1,642,000 and $8,032,000 , respectively, referable to the debt purchases as described in Note 6. The deferred gain was fully amortized in December 2015, concurrent with the retirement of the 10.125% notes due 2015.

DEBT

DEBT	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DEBT [Abstract]
DEBT	NOTE 6: DEBT Debt at December 31 is detailed as follows: Effective in thousands Interest Rates 2015 2014 Short-term Debt Bank line of credit expires 2020 1, 2, 3 n/a $ 0 $ 0 Total short-term debt $ 0 $ 0 Long-term Debt Bank line of credit expires 2020 1, 2, 3 1.75% $ 235,000 $ 0 10.125% notes due 2015 n/a 0 150,000 6.50% notes due 2016 n/a 0 125,001 6.40% notes due 2017 n/a 0 218,633 7.00% notes due 2018 7.87% 272,512 400,000 10.375% notes due 2018 10.63% 250,000 250,000 7.50% notes due 2021 7.75% 600,000 600,000 8.85% notes due 2021 8.88% 6,000 6,000 Industrial revenue bond due 2022 n/a 0 14,000 4.50% notes due 2025 4.65% 400,000 0 7.15% notes due 2037 8.05% 240,188 240,188 Other notes 2 6.25% 498 637 Unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs n/a (23,734) (22,716) Unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain 4 n/a 0 3,036 Total long-term debt including current maturities 5 $ 1,980,464 $ 1,984,779 Less current maturities 130 150,137 Total long-term debt $ 1,980,334 $ 1,834,642 Total debt 6 $ 1,980,464 $ 1,984,779 Estimated fair value of long-term debt $ 2,204,816 $ 2,092,673 1 Borrowings on the bank line of credit are classified as short-term debt if we intend to repay within twelve months and as long-term debt otherwise. 2 Non-publicly traded debt. 3 The effective interest rate is the spread over LIBOR as of the balance sheet dates. 4 The unamortized deferred gain was realized upon the August 2011 settlement of interest rate swaps as discussed in Note 5. 5 The debt balances as of December 31, 2014 have been adjusted to reflect our early adoption of ASU 2015-03 and related election as discussed in Note 1 under the caption New Accounting Standards. 6 Face value of our debt is equal to total debt plus unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs, and unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain, as follows : December 31, 2015 — $2,004,198 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $2,004,459 thousand . Our total debt is presented in the table above net of unamortized discounts from par, unamortized deferred debt issuance costs and unamortized deferred interest rate swap settlement gains. Discounts, deferred debt issuance costs and deferred swap settlement gains are amortized using the effective interest method over the terms of the respective notes. The estimated fair value of our debt presented in the table above was determined by: (1) averaging several asking price quotes for the publicly traded notes and (2) assuming par value for the remainder of the debt. The fair value estimates for the publicly traded notes were based on Level 2 information (as defined in Note 1, caption Fair Value Measurements) as of their respective balance sheet dates. LINE OF CREDIT In June 2015, we cancelled our secured $500,000,000 line of credit and entered into a n unsecured $750,000,000 line of credit (incurring $2,589,000 of transaction fees ). Th e l ine of credit agreement expires in June 2020 and contains affirmative, negative and financial covenants customary for an unsecured facility. The primary negative covenant limits our ability to incur secured deb t. The financial covenants are: (1) a maximum ratio of debt to EBITDA of 3.5 :1 through September 2016 and 3.25 :1 thereafter , and (2) a minimum ratio of EBITDA to net cash interest expense of 3.0 :1. As of December 31, 2015, we were in compliance with the line of credit covenants. Borrowings on our line of credit are classified as short-term debt if we intend to repay within twelve months and as long-term debt if we have the intent and ability to extend repayment beyond twelve months. Borrowings bear interest, at our option, at either LIBOR plus a credit margin ranging from 1.00% to 2.00% , or SunTrust Bank’s base rate (generally, its prime rate) plus a credit margin ranging from 0.00% to 1.00% . The credit margin for both LIBOR and base rate borrowings is determined by either our ratio of debt to EBITDA or our credit ratings, based on the metric that produces the lower credit margin. Standby letters of credit, which are issued under the line of credit and reduce availability, are charged a fee equal to the credit margin for LIBOR borrowings plus 0.175% . We also pay a commitment fee on the daily average unused amount of the line of credit that ranges from 0.10% to 0.35% based on either our ratio of debt to EBITDA or our credit ratings, based on the metric that produces the lower fee. As of December 31, 2015, the credit margin for LIBOR borrowings was 1.75% , the credit margin for base rate borrowings was 0.75% , and the commitment fee for the unused amount was 0.25% . As of December 31, 2015, our available borrowing capacity was $476,136,000 . Utilization of the borrowing capacity was as follows: § $235,000,000 was borrowed § $38,864,000 was used to provide support for outstanding standby letters of credit TERM DEBT All of our term debt is unsecured. All such debt, other than the $498,000 of other notes, is governed by two essentially identical indentures that contain customary investment-grade type covenants. The primary covenant in both indentures limits the amount of secured debt we may incur without ratably securing such debt. As of December 31, 2015, we were in compliance with all of the term debt covenants. In August 2015, we repaid our $14,000,000 industrial revenue bond due 2022 via borrowing on our line of credit. The repayment did not incur any prepayment penalties. Additionally, in December 2015, we repaid our $150,000,000 10.125% notes due 2015 via borrowing on our line of credit. In March 2015, we issued $400,000,000 of 4.50% senior notes due 2025 . Proceeds (net of underwriter fees and other transaction costs) of $395,207,000 were partially used to fund the March 30, 2015 purchase, via tender offer, of $127,303,000 principal amount ( 32% ) of the 7.00% notes due 2018 . The March 2015 debt purchase cost $145,899,000 , including an $18,140,000 premium above the principal amount of the notes and transaction costs of $456,000 . The premium primarily reflects the trading price of the notes relative to par prior to the tender offer commencement. Additionally, we recognized $3,138,000 of net noncash expense associated with the acceleration of a proportional amount of unamortized discounts, deferred debt issuance costs, and deferred interest rate derivative settlement gains and losses. The combined first quarter charge of $21,734,000 is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income as a component of interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2015. The remaining net proceeds from the March 2015 debt issuance, together with cash on hand and borrowings under our line of credit, funded: (1) the April 2015 redemption of $218,633,000 principal amount ( 100% ) of the 6.40% notes due 2017 , (2) the April 2015 redemption of $125,001,000 principal amount ( 100% ) of the 6.50% notes due 2016 and (3) the April 2015 purchase, via the tender offer commenced in March 2015 of $185,000 principal amount (less than 1% ) of the 7.00% notes due 2018 . The April 2015 debt purchases cost $385,024,000 , including a $41,153,000 premium above the principal amount of the notes and transaction costs of $52,000 . The premium primarily reflects the make-whole value of the 2016 notes and the 2017 notes. Additionally, we recognized $4,136,000 of net noncash expense associated with the acceleration of unamortized discounts, deferred debt issuance costs, and deferred interest rate derivative settlement gains and losses. The combined second quarter charge of $45,341,000 is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income as a component of interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2015. In March 2014, we purchased $506,366,000 principal amount of debt through a tender offer as follows: $374,999,000 of 6.50% notes due in 2016 and $131,367,000 of 6.40% notes due in 2017. This debt purchase was funded by the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area as described in Note 19 . The March 2014 debt purchases cost $579,659,000 , including a $71,829,000 premium above the principal amount of the notes and transaction costs of $1,464,000 . The premium primarily reflects the trading price of the notes relative to par prior to the tender offer commencement. Additionally, we recognized a net noncash benefit of $344,000 associated with the acceleration of a proportional amount of unamortized discounts, deferred debt issuance costs, and deferred interest rate derivative settlement gains and losses. The combined charge of $72,949,000 is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income as a component of interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2014. DEBT PAYMENTS As described above, during the first and second quarters of 2015, we purchased/redeemed $471,122,000 principal amount of debt using the proceeds from the March 2015 debt issuance, cash on hand and borrowings on our line of credit. Additionally in 2015, we borrowed on our line of credit during August to repay our $14,000,000 industrial revenue bond due 2022 and during December to repay our $150,000,000 10.125% notes due 2015. There were no material scheduled debt payments during 2014. However, as described above, we purchased $506,366,000 principal amount of debt through a tender offer in the first quarter of 2014. The total scheduled (principal and interest) debt payments, excluding draws, if any, on the line of credit, for the five years subsequent to December 31, 2015 are as follows: in thousands Total Principal Interest Debt Payments (excluding the line of credit) 2016 $ 125,878 $ 130 $ 125,748 2017 125,878 138 125,740 2018 638,728 522,534 116,194 2019 80,740 23 80,717 2020 80,740 25 80,715 STANDBY LETTERS OF CREDIT We provide, in the normal course of business, certain third-party beneficiaries standby letters of credit to support our obligations to pay or perform according to the requirements of an underlying agreement. Such letters of credit typically have an initial term of one year, typically renew automatically, and can only be modified or cancelled with the approval of the beneficiary. All of our standby letters of credit are issued by banks that participate in our $750,000,000 line of credit, and reduce the borrowing capacity thereunder. Our standby letters of credit as of December 31, 2015 are summarized by purpose in the table below: in thousands Standby Letters of Credit Risk management insurance $ 33,111 Reclamation/restoration requirements 5,753 Total $ 38,864

OPERATING LEASES

OPERATING LEASES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
OPERATING LEASES [Abstract]
OPERATING LEASES	NOTE 7: OPERATING LEASES Rental expense from continuing operations under nonmineral operating leases for the years ended December 31, exclusive of rental payments made under leases of one month or less, is summarized as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Operating Leases Minimum rentals $ 49,461 $ 42,887 $ 40,151 Contingent rentals (based principally on usage) 60,380 56,717 44,111 Total $ 109,841 $ 99,604 $ 84,262 Future minimum operating lease payments under all leases with initial or remaining noncancelable lease terms in excess of one year, exclusive of mineral leases (see Note 12), as of December 31, 2015 are payable as follows: in thousands Future Minimum Operating Lease Payments 2016 $ 30,945 2017 29,712 2018 26,543 2019 22,455 2020 20,508 Thereafter 128,657 Total $ 258,820 Lease agreements frequently include renewal options and require that we pay for utilities, taxes, insurance and maintenance expense. Options to purchase are also included in some lease agreements.

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATI

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS [Abstract]
ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS	NOTE 8: ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS Our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31 include accrued environmental remediation costs (measured on an undiscounted basis) as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs Continuing operations $ 6,876 $ 4,919 Retained from former Chemicals business 10,988 4,129 Total $ 17,864 $ 9,048 The long-term portion of the accruals noted above is included in other noncurrent liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets and amounted to $12,569,000 at December 31, 2015 and $6,736,000 at December 31, 2014. The short-term portion of these accruals is included in other accrued liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The accrued environmental remediation costs in continuing operations relate primarily to the former Florida Rock, Tarmac, and CalMat facilities acquired in 2007, 2000 and 1999, respectively. The current increase primarily relates to environmental costs incurred at the Hewitt Landfill. The balances noted above for Chemicals relate to retained environmental remediation costs from the 2003 sale of the Performance Chemicals business and the 2005 sale of the Chloralkali business. The increase in these retained liabilities primarily relates to the Lower Passaic River Superfund site. Refer to Note 12 for additional discussion of these contingent environmental matters.

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
INCOME TAXES	NOTE 9: INCOME TAXES The components of earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Earnings (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes Domestic $ 293,547 $ 264,473 $ (34,239) Foreign 34,310 34,365 30,536 Total $ 327,857 $ 298,838 $ (3,703) Provision for (benefit from) income taxes from continuing operations consists of the following: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes from Continuing Operations Current Federal $ 67,521 $ 47,882 $ (3,691) State and local 14,035 18,983 7,941 Foreign 7,784 7,174 5,423 Total $ 89,340 $ 74,039 $ 9,673 Deferred Federal $ 11,192 $ 13,556 $ (20,581) State and local (4,888) 4,120 (13,542) Foreign (701) (23) (9) Total $ 5,603 $ 17,653 $ (34,132) Total provision (benefit) $ 94,943 $ 91,692 $ (24,459) The provision for (benefit from) income taxes differs from the amount computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to earnings (losses) from continuing operations before income taxes. The sources and tax effects of the differences are as follows: dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Income tax provision (benefit) at the federal statutory tax rate of 35% $ 114,750 35.0% $ 104,594 35.0% $ (1,296) 35.0% Provision for (Benefit from) Income Tax Differences Statutory depletion (27,702) -8.4% (25,774) -8.6% (20,875) 563.7% State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit 5,945 1.8% 15,017 5.0% (3,641) 98.3% U.S. production deduction (5,099) -1.6% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Foreign tax credit carryforwards impairment 6,486 2.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Permanently reinvested foreign earnings (6,396) -2.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Other, net 6,959 2.2% (2,145) -0.7% 1,353 -36.5% Total income tax provision (benefit)/ Effective tax rate $ 94,943 29.0% $ 91,692 30.7% $ (24,459) 660.5% Deferr ed ta xes on the balance sheet result from temporary differences between the amount of assets and liabilities recognized for financial reporting and tax purposes. The components of the net deferred income tax liability at December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Deferred Tax Assets Related to Employee benefits $ 78,999 $ 97,757 Asset retirement obligations & other reserves 59,507 53,670 Deferred compensation 117,298 121,900 State net operating losses 61,658 59,315 Federal credit carryforwards 34,340 40,212 Other 48,856 52,241 Total gross deferred tax assets 400,658 425,095 Valuation allowance (59,323) (56,867) Total net deferred tax assets $ 341,335 $ 368,228 Deferred Tax Liabilities Related to Property, plant and equipment $ 665,057 $ 661,697 Goodwill/other intangible assets 324,910 329,539 Other 32,464 28,403 Total deferred tax liabilities $ 1,022,431 $ 1,019,639 Net deferred tax liability $ 681,096 $ 651,411 The above amounts are reflected in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31 as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Deferred Income Taxes Current assets 1 $ 0 $ (39,726) Noncurrent liabilities 681,096 691,137 Net deferred tax liability $ 681,096 $ 651,411 1 As discussed in Note 1, we early adopted ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis as of December 31, 2015. Thus, all deferred income taxes as of December 31, 2015 are classified as noncurrent resulting in a $44,464 thousand decrease in current assets with a corresponding decrease in noncurrent liabilities. As noted above, we have state net operating loss carryforward deferred tax assets of $61,658,000 of which $58,921,000 relates to Alabama. The Alabama net operating loss carryforward, if not utilized, would expire in years 2022 – 2029. Prior to 2015, this Alabama deferred tax asset carried a full valuation allowance. During 2015, we restructured our legal entities which resulted in a partial release of the valuation allowance in the amount of $4,655,000 . Each quarter we analyze the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be realized. A valuation allowance is recorded if, based on the weight of all available positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not (a likelihood of more than 50%) that some portion, or all, of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. As of December 31, 2015, income tax receivables of $4,138,000 are included in accounts and notes receivable in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet. These receivables relate to prior year state overpayments that we have requested to be refunded. There were similar receivables of $1,040,000 as of December 31, 2014. Our liability for unrecognized tax benefits is discussed in our accounting policy for income taxes (see Note 1, caption Income Taxes). Changes in our liability for unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1 $ 7,057 $ 12,155 $ 13,550 Increases for tax positions related to Prior years 491 229 28 Current year 942 528 845 Decreases for tax positions related to Prior years 0 (53) (86) Settlements with taxing authorities 0 0 (136) Expiration of applicable statute of limitations (43) (5,802) (2,046) Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31 $ 8,447 $ 7,057 $ 12,155 We classify interest and penalties recognized on the liability for unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. Interest and penalties recognized as income tax expense (benefit) were $138,000 in 2015, $(1,067,000) in 2014 and $(788,000) in 2013. The balance of accrued interest and penalties included in our liability for unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31 was $1,103,000 in 2015, $965,000 in 2014 and $2,032,000 in 2013. Our liability for unrecognized tax benefits at December 31 in the table above include $7,614,000 in 2015, $6,282,000 in 2014 and $7,910,000 in 2013 that would affect the effective tax rate if recognized. We are routinely examined by various taxing authorities. We anticipate no single tax position generating a significant increase or decrease in our liability for unrecognized tax benefits within 12 months of this reporting date. We file income tax returns in U.S. federal, various state and foreign jurisdictions. Generally, we are not subject to significant changes in income taxes by any taxing jurisdiction for the years prior to 2012. As of December 31, 2015, we have $75,938,000 of accumulated undistributed earnings from one of our foreign subsidiaries. We consider these earnings to be indefinitely reinvested and, therefore, have not recorde d i ncome taxes on these earnings. If we were to distribute these earnings in the form of dividends, the distribution would result in U.S. income taxes of $26,578,000 .

BENEFIT PLANS

BENEFIT PLANS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
BENEFIT PLANS [Abstract]
BENEFIT PLANS	NOTE 10: BENEFIT PLANS PENSION PLANS We sponsor three funded, noncontributory defined benefit pension plans. These plans cover substantially all employees hired prior to July 2007, other than those covered by union-administered plans. Normal retirement age is 65 , but the plans contain provisions for earlier retirement. Benefits for the Salaried Plan and the Chemicals Hourly Plan are generally based on salaries or wages and years of service; the Construction Materials Hourly Plan provides benefits equal to a flat dollar amount for each year of service. In addition to these qualified plans, we sponsor three unfunded, nonqualified pension plans. The projected benefit obligation presented in the table below includes $89,652,000 and $101,230,000 , respectively, related to these unfunded, nonqualified pension plans for 2015 and 2014. Effective July 2007, we amended our defined benefit pension plans to no longer accept new participants. In December 2013, we amended our defined benefit pension plans so that future service accruals for salaried pension participants ceased effective December 31, 2013. This change included a special transition provision which will allow covered compensation through December 31, 2015 to be considered in the participants’ benefit calculations. The amendment resulted in a curtailment and remeasurement of the salaried and nonqualified pension plans in May 2013 that reduced our 2013 pension expense by approximately $7,600,000 (net of the one-time curtailment loss) of which $800,000 was related to discontinued operations. The following table sets forth the combined funded status of the plans and their reconciliation with the related amounts recognized in our consolidated financial statements at December 31: in thousands 2015 2014 Change in Benefit Obligation Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 1,083,222 $ 911,700 Service cost 4,851 4,157 Interest cost 44,065 44,392 Actuarial (gain) loss (63,725) 167,041 Benefits paid (79,960) (44,068) Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 988,453 $ 1,083,222 Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets Fair value of assets at beginning of year $ 816,972 $ 756,624 Actual return on plan assets (5,373) 98,928 Employer contribution 14,047 5,488 Benefits paid (79,960) (44,068) Fair value of assets at end of year $ 745,686 $ 816,972 Funded status (242,767) (266,250) Net amount recognized $ (242,767) $ (266,250) Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets Noncurrent assets $ 0 $ 0 Current liabilities (9,106) (13,719) Noncurrent liabilities (233,661) (252,531) Net amount recognized $ (242,767) $ (266,250) Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial loss $ 222,580 $ 249,867 Prior service credit (404) (356) Total amount recognized $ 222,176 $ 249,511 The accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) and the projected benefit obligation (PBO) exceeded plan assets for all of our defined benefit plans at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014. The ABO for all of our defined benefit pension plans totaled $987,724,000 (unfunded, nonqualified plans of $89,652,000) at December 31, 2015 and $1,061,816,000 (unfunded, nonqualified plans of $95,154,000 ) at December 31, 2014. The following table sets forth the components of net periodic benefit cost, amounts recognized in other comprehensive income and weighted-average assumptions of the plans at December 31: dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost Service cost $ 4,851 $ 4,157 $ 21,904 Interest cost 44,065 44,392 40,995 Expected return on plan assets (54,736) (50,802) (47,425) Settlement charge 2,031 0 0 Curtailment loss 0 0 855 Amortization of prior service cost 48 188 339 Amortization of actuarial loss 21,641 11,221 20,429 Net periodic pension benefit cost $ 17,900 $ 9,156 $ 37,097 Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial loss (gain) $ (3,615) $ 118,915 $ (163,205) Prior service cost (credit) 0 0 (583) Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic pension benefit cost (23,672) (11,221) (20,429) Reclassification of prior service cost to net periodic pension benefit cost (48) (188) (1,194) Amount recognized in other comprehensive income $ (27,335) $ 107,506 $ (185,411) Amount recognized in net periodic pension benefit cost and other comprehensive income $ (9,435) $ 116,662 $ (148,314) Assumptions Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31 Discount rate 4.14% 4.91% 4.33% Expected return on plan assets 7.50% 7.50% 7.50% Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans) 3.70% 3.50% 3.50% Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31 Discount rate 4.54% 4.14% 4.91% Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans) 3.50% 3.70% 3.50% The settlement charge noted above relates to a lump sum payment to a former employee from the nonqualified plan. This charge is reflected within both cost of revenues and selling, administrative and general expenses in our accompanying Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2015. The estimated net actuarial loss and prior servic e credit t hat will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic pension benefit cost (credit) during 2016 are $6,067,000 and $(43,000), r espectively. Assumptions regarding our expected return on plan assets are based primarily on judgments made by us and the Finance Committee of our Board. These judgments take into account the expectations of our pension plan consultants and actuaries and our investment advisors. We base our expected return on long-term investment expectations. The expected return on plan assets used to determine 2015 pension benefit cost was 7.50% . We establish our pension investment policy by evaluating asset/liability studies periodically performed by our consultants. These studies estimate trade-offs between expected returns on our investments and the variability in anticipated cash contributions to fund our pension liabilities. Our policy balances the variability in potential pension fund contributions to expected returns on our investments. Our current strategy for implementing this policy is to invest in publicly traded equities and in publicly traded debt and private, nonliquid opportunities, such as venture capital, commodities, buyout funds and mezzanine debt. The target allocation ranges for plan assets are as follows: equity securities — 50% to 77% ; debt securities — 15% to 27% ; specialty investments — 0% to 20% ; commodities — 0% to 6%; and cash reserves — 0% to 5% . Equity securities include domestic investments and foreign equities in the Europe, Australia and Far East (EAFE) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Emerging Market Indices. Debt securities primarily include domestic debt instruments, while specialty investments include investments in venture capital, buyout funds, mezzanine debt, private partnerships and an interest in a commodity index fund. The fair values of our pension plan assets at December 31, 2015 and 2014 by asset category are as follows: Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2015 in thousands Level 1 1 Level 2 1 Level 3 1 Total Asset Category Debt securities $ 0 $ 154,745 $ 0 $ 154,745 Investment funds Commodity funds 0 14,490 0 14,490 Equity funds 647 463,416 0 464,063 Short-term funds 0 9,516 0 9,516 Venture capital and partnerships 0 0 102,872 102,872 Total pension plan assets $ 647 $ 642,167 $ 102,872 $ 745,686 1 See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy. Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2014 in thousands Level 1 1 Level 2 1 Level 3 1 Total Asset Category Debt securities $ 0 $ 164,695 $ 0 $ 164,695 Investment funds Commodity funds 0 19,480 0 19,480 Equity funds 457 506,912 0 507,369 Short-term funds 0 15,495 0 15,495 Venture capital and partnerships 0 0 109,933 109,933 Total pension plan assets $ 457 $ 706,582 $ 109,933 $ 816,972 1 See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy. At each measurement date, we estimate the fair value of our pension assets using various valuation techniques. We utilize, to the extent available, quoted market prices in active markets or observable market inputs in estimating the fair value of our pension assets. When quoted market prices or observable market inputs are not available, we utilize valuation techniques that rely on unobservable inputs to estimate the fair value of our pension assets. The following describes the types of investments included in each asset category listed in the tables above and the valuation techniques we used to determine the fair values as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. The debt securities category consists of bonds issued by U.S. federal, state and local governments, corporate debt securities, fixed income obligations issued by foreign governments, and asset-backed securities. The fair values of U.S. government and corporate debt securities are based on current market rates and credit spreads for debt securities with similar maturities. The fair values of debt securities issued by foreign governments are based on prices obtained from broker/dealers and international indices. The fair values of asset-backed securities are priced using prepayment speed and spread inputs that are sourced from the new issue market. Investment funds consist of exchange traded and non-exchange traded funds. The commodity funds asset category consists of a single open-end commodity mutual fund. The equity funds asset category consists of index funds for domestic equities and an actively managed fund for international equities. The short-term funds asset category consists of a collective investment trust invested in highly liquid, short-term debt securities. For investment funds publicly traded on a national securities exchange, the fair value is based on quoted market prices. For investment funds not traded on an exchange, the total fair value of the underlying securities is used to determine the net asset value for each unit of the fund held by the pension fund. The estimated fair values of the underlying securities are generally valued based on quoted market prices. For securities without quoted market prices, other observable market inputs are utilized to determine the fair value. The venture capital and partnerships asset category consists of various limited partnership funds, mezzanine debt funds and leveraged buyout funds. The fair value of these investments has been estimated based on methods employed by the general partners, including consideration of, among other things, reference to third-party transactions, valuations of comparable companies operating within the same or similar industry, the current economic and competitive environment, creditworthiness of the corporate issuer, as well as market prices for instruments with similar maturities, terms, conditions and quality ratings. The use of different assumptions, applying different judgment to inherently subjective matters and changes in future market conditions could result in significantly different estimates of fair value of these securities. A reconciliation of the fair value measurements of our pension plan assets using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 is presented below: Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Venture Capital and in thousands Partnerships Balance at December 31, 2013 $ 88,482 Total gains (losses) for 2014 1 34,071 Purchases, sales and settlements, net (12,940) Transfers into (out of) Level 3 320 Balance at December 31, 2014 $ 109,933 Total gains (losses) for 2015 1 5,186 Purchases, sales and settlements, net (12,247) Transfers into (out of) Level 3 0 Balance at December 31, 2015 $ 102,872 1 The total gains (losses) for 2015 and 2014 include $47 thousand and $29,329 thousand, respectively, in unrealized gains related to assets still held as of their respective year ends. Total employer contributions for the pension plans are presented below: in thousands Pension Employer Contributions 2013 $ 4,855 2014 5,488 2015 14,047 2016 (estimated) 9,107 During 2015, 2014 and 2013, we made no contributions to our qualified pension plans. We do not anticipate making contributions to our qualified pension plans in 2016. For our nonqualified pension plans, we made benefit payments of $14,047,000 , $5,488,000 and $4,855,000 during 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and expect to make payments of $9,107,000 during 2016. The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid: in thousands Pension Estimated Future Benefit Payments 2016 $ 51,286 2017 52,434 2018 55,527 2019 56,835 2020 58,161 2021-2025 305,043 We contribute to a number of multiemployer defined benefit pension plans under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements for union-represented employees. A multiemployer plan is subject to collective bargaining for employees of two or more unrelated companies. Multiemployer plans are managed by boards of trustees on which management and labor have equal representation. However, in most cases, management is not directly represented. The risks of participating in multiemployer plans differ from single employer plans as follows: § assets contributed to a multiemployer plan by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers § if a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be borne by the remaining participating employers § if we cease to have an obligation to contribute to one or more of the multiemployer plans to which we contribute, we may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the underfunded status of the plan, referred to as a withdrawal liability None of the multiemployer pension plans that we participate in are individually significant. Our contributions to individual multiemployer pension funds did not exceed 5% of the fund’s total contributions in the three years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Total contributions to multiemployer pension plans were $9,800,000 in 2015, $8,503,000 in 2014 and $7,580,000 in 2013. As of December 31, 2015, a total of 14% of our domestic hourly labor force was covered by collective-bargaining agreements. Of such employees covered by collective-bargaining agreements, 40% were covered by agreements that expire in 2016. We also employed 315 union employees in Mexico who are covered by a collective-bargaining agreement that will expire in 2016. None of our union employees in Mexico participate in multiemployer pension plans. In addition to the pension plans noted above, we had one unfunded supplemental retirement plan as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. The accrued costs for the supplemental retirement plan were $1,384,000 at December 31, 2015 and $1,421,000 at December 31, 2014. POSTRETIREMENT PLANS In addition to pension benefits, we provide certain healthcare and life insurance benefits for some retired employees. In 2012, we amended our postretirement healthcare plan to cap our portion of the medical coverage cost at the 2015 level. Substantially all our salaried employees and, where applicable, certain of our hourly employees may become eligible for these benefits if they reach a qualifying age and meet certain service requirements. Generally, Company-provided healthcare benefits terminate when covered individuals become eligible for Medicare benefits, become eligible for other group insurance coverage or reach age 65 , whichever occurs first. The March 2014 sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19) significantly reduced total expected future service of our postretirement plans resulting in a reduction in the projected benefit obligation of $2,639,000 and a one-time curtailment gain of $3,832,000 . This gain is reflected within gain on sale of property, plant & equipment and businesses in our accompanying Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2014. The following table sets forth the combined funded status of the plans and their reconciliation with the related amounts recognized in our consolidated financial statements at December 31: in thousands 2015 2014 Change in Benefit Obligation Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 85,336 $ 92,888 Service cost 1,894 2,146 Interest cost 2,485 3,297 Liability reduction from curtailment 0 (2,639) Actuarial gain (35,195) (2,617) Benefits paid (5,915) (7,739) Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 48,605 $ 85,336 Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets Fair value of assets at beginning of year $ 0 $ 0 Actual return on plan assets 0 0 Fair value of assets at end of year $ 0 $ 0 Funded status $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Net amount recognized $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets Current liabilities $ (6,287) $ (8,964) Noncurrent liabilities (42,318) (76,372) Net amount recognized $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial (gain) loss $ (24,325) $ 10,921 Prior service credit (23,928) (28,160) Total amount recognized $ (48,253) $ (17,239) The following table sets forth the components of net periodic benefit cost, amounts recognized in other comprehensive income, weighted-average assumptions and assumed trend rates of the plans at December 31: dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Components of Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost Service cost $ 1,894 $ 2,146 $ 2,830 Interest cost 2,485 3,297 3,260 Curtailment gain 0 (3,832) 0 Amortization of prior service credit (4,232) (4,327) (4,863) Amortization of actuarial loss 37 227 1,372 Net periodic postretirement benefit cost (credit) $ 184 $ (2,489) $ 2,599 Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial (gain) loss $ (35,209) $ (5,256) $ (20,444) Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic postretirement benefit cost (37) (227) (1,372) Reclassification of prior service credit to net periodic postretirement benefit cost 4,232 8,159 4,863 Amount recognized in other comprehensive income $ (31,014) $ 2,676 $ (16,953) Amount recognized in net periodic postretirement benefit cost and other comprehensive income $ (30,830) $ 187 $ (14,354) Assumptions Assumed Healthcare Cost Trend Rates at December 31 Healthcare cost trend rate assumed for next year n/a 7.50% 7.50% Rate to which the cost trend rate gradually declines n/a 5.00% 5.00% Year that the rate reaches the rate it is assumed to maintain n/a 2025 2019 Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31 Discount rate 3.50% 4.10% 3.30% Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31 Discount rate 3.69% 3.50% 4.10% The estimated net actuaria l gain and prior service credit that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic postretirement benefit cost (credit) during 2016 are $(1,828,000) and $(4,236,000) , respectively. Total employer contributions for the postretirement plans are presented below: in thousands Postretirement Employer Contributions 2013 $ 6,258 2014 7,739 2015 5,915 2016 (estimated) 6,287 The employer contributions shown above are equal to the cost of benefits during the year. The plans are not funded and are not subject to any regulatory funding requirements. The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid: in thousands Postretirement Estimated Future Benefit Payments 2016 $ 6,287 2017 5,856 2018 5,623 2019 5,415 2020 5,152 2021–2025 19,229 Contributions by participants to the postretirement benefit plans for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands Postretirement Participants Contributions 2013 $ 2,022 2014 1,873 2015 2,031 PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS ASSUMPTIONS Each year we review our assumptions about the discount rate, the expected return on plan assets, the rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans) and the rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered healthcare benefits. In selecting the discount rate, we consider the yield on high-quality bonds with a duration equal to the duration of plan liabilities. At December 31, 2015, the discount rates for our various plans ranged from 3.53% to 4.68% (December 31, 2014 ranged from 3.50% to 4.30%) . Beginning in 2016, we are changing the method we use to estimate the service and interest cost components of net periodic benefit cost for our defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans. Historically, we estimated the service and interest cost components using a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. Beginning in 2016, we elected to utilize a full yield curve approach to estimate the service and interest cost applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve to the relevant projected cash flows. We are making this change to provide a more precise measurement of service and interest costs by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows to the corresponding yield curve spot rates. This change will not affect the measurement of our total benefit obligations as the change in the service cost and interest cost is completely offset in the actuarial (gain) loss reported. We are accounting for this change as a change in estimate and, accordingly, are accounting for it prospectively starting in 2016. The estimated weighted-average discount rates to measure service cost and interest cost for 2016 are 4.89% and 3.80% , respectively, for our pension plans and 4.05% and 2.81% , respectively, for our other postretirement plans. The weighted-average discount rates that we would have used for service and interest costs under our prior estimation technique were 4.54% for the pension plans and 3.69% for the other postretirement plans. The reductions in benefit cost for 2016 associated with this change are estimated to be $7,200,000 and $530,000 for our pension and other postretirement plans, respectively. In estimating the expected return on plan assets, we consider past performance and long-term future expectations for the types of investments held by the plan as well as the expected long-term allocation of plan assets to these investments. At December 31, 2015, the expected return on plan assets remains at 7.50% . Annual pay increases after 2015 will not increase our pension plan obligations as a result of a 2013 plan amendment. Future increases in the per capital cost of healthcare benefits will not increase our postretirement medical benefits obligation as a result of a 2012 plan amendment to cap medical coverage cost at the 2015 level. DE FINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS We sponsor two defined contribution plans. Substantially all salaried and nonunion hourly employees are eligible to be covered by one of these plans. Under these plans, we match employees’ eligible contributions at established rates. Expense recognized in connection with these matching obligations totaled $36,085,000 in 2015, $29,215,000 in 2014 and $21,416,000 in 2013.

INCENTIVE PLANS

INCENTIVE PLANS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INCENTIVE PLANS [Abstract]
INCENTIVE PLANS	NOTE 11: INCENTIVE PLANS SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS Our 2006 Omnibus Long-term Incentive Plan (Plan) authorizes the granting of stock options, Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights (SOSARs) and other types of share-based awards to key salaried employees and nonemployee directors. The maximum number of shares that may be issued under the Plan is 11,900,000 . PERFORMANCE SHARES — Each performance share unit is equal to and paid in one share of our common stock, but carries no voting or dividend rights. The number of units ultimately paid for performance share awards may range from 0% to 200% of the number of units awarded on the date of grant. Payment is based upon our Total Shareholder Return (TSR) performance relative to the TSR performance of the S&P 500 ® . Awards vest on December 31 of the fourth year after date of grant. Vesting is accelerated upon reaching retirement age, death, disability, or change of control, all as defined in the award agreement. Nonvested units are forfeited upon termination for any other reason. Expense provisions referable to performance share awards amounted to $13,159,000 in 2015, $16,863,000 in 2014 and $16,159,000 in 2013. The fair value of performance shares is estimated as of the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The following table summarizes the activity for nonvested performance share units during the year ended December 31, 2015: Target Weighted-average Number Grant-date of Shares Fair Value Performance Shares Nonvested at January 1, 2015 1,019,416 $ 53.16 Granted 231,730 74.85 Vested (441,483) 46.22 Canceled/forfeited (3,324) 67.28 Nonvested at December 31, 2015 806,339 $ 63.13 During 2014 and 2013, the weighted-average grant-date fair value of performance shares granted was $63.42 and $53.65 , respectively. The aggregate values for distributed performance share awards are based on the closing price of our common stock as of the distribution date. The aggregate values of distributed performance shares for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Aggregate value of distributed performance shares $ 26,258 $ 0 $ 9,286 In addition to the performance shares granted above, we granted 14,000 restricted shares in February 2015 and 60,000 restricted shares in December 2013 to certain key executives. These shares cliff vest on the fourth anniversary of the grant date and have a grant-date fair value of $74.85 and $54.35 , respectively. Expense provisions referable to restricted share awards amounted to $982,000 in 2015, $704,000 in 2014 and $35,000 in 2013. STOCK OPTIONS/SOSARS — Stock options/SOSARs granted have an exercise price equal to the market value of our underlying common stock on the date of grant . Th e options/SOSARs vest ratably over 4 years and expire 10 years subsequent to the gran t. V esting is accelerated upon reaching retirement age, death, disability, or change of control, all as defined in the award agreement. Nonvested awards are forfeited upon termination for any other reason. The fair value of stock options/SOSARs is estimated as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Compensation cost for stock options/SOSARs is based on this grant-date fair value and is recognized for awards that ultimately vest. The following table presents the weighted-average fair value and the weighted-average assumptions used in estimating the fair value of grants during the years ended December 31: 2015 2014 2013 SOSARs Fair value $ 25.17 $ 21.94 $ 16.96 Risk-free interest rate 1.85% 2.40% 1.40% Dividend yield 1.70% 1.64% 1.72% Volatility 33.00% 33.00% 33.00% Expected term 8.00 years 8.00 years 8.00 years The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield at the date of grant of a U.S. Treasury security with a maturity period approximating the SOSARs expected term. The dividend yield assumption is based on our historical dividend payouts adjusted for current expectations of future payouts. The volatility assumption is based on the historical volatility and expectations about future volatility of our common stock over a period equal to the SOSARs expected term. The expected term is based on historical experience and expectations about future exercises and represents the period of time that SOSARs granted are expected to be outstanding. A summary of our stock option/SOSAR activity as of December 31, 2015 and changes during the year are presented below: Weighted-average Remaining Aggregate Number Weighted-average Contractual Intrinsic Value of Shares Exercise Price Life (Years) (in thousands) Stock Options/SOSARs Outstanding at January 1, 2015 4,786,305 $ 59.65 Granted 161,310 79.41 Exercised (1,890,028) 63.48 Forfeited or expired (4,838) 64.48 Outstanding at December 31, 2015 3,052,749 $ 58.32 4.36 $ 118,401 Vested and expected to vest 3,038,898 $ 58.27 4.35 $ 118,043 Exercisable at December 31, 2015 2,602,447 $ 56.65 3.70 $ 106,100 The aggregate intrinsic values in the table above represent the total pretax intrinsic value (the difference between our stock price on the last trading day of 2015 and the exercise price, multiplied by the number of in-the-money options/SOSARs) that would have been received by the option holders had all options/SOSARs been exercised on December 31, 2015. These values change based on the fair market value of our common stock. The aggregate intrinsic values of options/SOSARs exercised for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Aggregate intrinsic value of options/ SOSARs exercised $ 43,620 $ 7,372 $ 4,563 To the extent the tax deductions exceed compensation cost recorded, the tax benefit is reflected as a component of equity in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table presents cash and stock consideration received and tax benefit realized from stock option/SOSAR exercises and compensation cost recorded referable to stock options/SOSARs for the years ended December 31: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Stock Options/SOSARs Cash and stock consideration received from exercises $ 72,884 $ 23,199 $ 17,156 Tax benefit from exercises 16,920 2,844 1,770 Compensation cost 2,221 4,650 3,936 CASH-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS We have incentive plans under which cash awards may be made annually to officers and key employees. Expense provisions referable to these plans amounted to $26,325,000 in 2015, $27,442,000 in 2014 and $19,540,000 in 2013.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	NOTE 12: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES We have commitments in the form of unconditional purchase obligations as of December 31, 2015. These include commitments for the purchase of property, plant & equipment of $146,864,000 and commitments for noncapital purchases of $48,602,000 . These commitments are due as follows: Unconditional Purchase in thousands Obligations Property, Plant & Equipment 2016 $ 67,560 Thereafter 79,304 Total $ 146,864 Noncapital (primarily transportation and electricity contracts) 2016 $ 14,361 2017–2018 17,564 2019–2020 11,677 Thereafter 5,000 Total $ 48,602 Expenditures under noncapital purchase commitments totaled $76,178,000 in 2015, $65,582,000 in 2014 and $83,699,000 in 2013. We have commitments in the form of minimum royalties under mineral leases as of December 31, 2015 in the amount of $217,380,000 , due as follows: Mineral in thousands Leases Minimum Royalties 2016 $ 21,479 2017–2018 37,710 2019–2020 25,380 Thereafter 132,811 Total $ 217,380 Expenditures for royalties under mineral leases totaled $58,048,000 in 2015, $49,685,000 in 2014 and $53,768,000 in 2013. Refer to Note 7 for future minimum nonmineral operating lease payments. Certain of our aggregates reserves are burdened by volumetric production payments (nonoperating interest) as described in Note 1 under the caption Deferred Revenue. As the holder of the working interest, we have responsibility to bear the cost of mining and producing the reserves attributable to this nonoperating interest. As summarized by purpose in Note 6, our standby letters of credit totaled $38,864,000 as of December 31, 2015. As described in Note 9, our liability for unrecognized tax benefits is $8,447,000 as of December 31, 2015. LITIGATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS We are subject to occasional governmental proceedings and orders pertaining to occupational safety and health or to protection of the environment, such as proceedings or orders relating to noise abatement, air emissions or water discharges. As part of our continuing program of stewardship in safety, health and environmental matters, we have been able to resolve such proceedings and to comply with such orders without any material adverse effects on our business. We have received notices from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or similar state or local agencies that we are considered a potentially responsible party (PRP) at a limited number of sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) or similar state and local environmental laws. Generally we share the cost of remediation at these sites with other PRPs or alleged PRPs in accordance with negotiated or prescribed allocations. There is inherent uncertainty in determining the potential cost of remediating a given site and in determining any individual party's share in that cost. As a result, estimates can change substantially as additional information becomes available regarding the nature or extent of site contamination, remediation methods, other PRPs and their probable level of involvement, and actions by or against governmental agencies or private parties. We have reviewed the nature and extent of our involvement at each Superfund site, as well as potential obligations arising under other federal, state and local environmental laws. While ultimate resolution and financial liability is uncertain at a number of the sites, in our opinion based on information currently available, the ultimate resolution of claims and assessments related to these sites will not have a material effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows, although amounts recorded in a given period could be material to our results of operations or cash flows for that period. Amounts accrued for environmental matters are presented in Note 8. We are a defendant in various lawsuits in the ordinary course of business. It is not possible to determine with precision the outcome, or the amount of liability, if any, under these lawsuits, especially where the cases involve possible jury trials with as yet undetermined jury panels. In addition to these lawsuits in which we are involved in the ordinary course of business, certain other material legal proceedings are specifically described below. § Lower Passaic River Study Area (Superfund Site) — The Lower Passaic River Study Area is part of the Diamond Shamrock Superfund Site in New Jersey. Vulcan and approximately 70 other companies are parties (collectively the “Cooperating Parties Group”) to a May 2007 Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to perform a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (draft RI/FS) of the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River (River). On April 11, 2014, the EPA issued a proposed Focused Feasibility Study (FFS) that calls for a bank-to-bank dredging remedy for the lower 8 miles of the River. The EPA estimates that the cost of implementing this proposal is approximately $950 million to $1.73 billion. The period for public comment on the proposed FFS is closed and it is anticipated that the EPA will issue its final record of decision in the first half of 2016. The Cooperating Parties Group draft RI/FS estimates the preferred re \ medial action presented therein to cost in the range of approximately $475 million to $725 million (including $93 million in operations and maintenance costs for a 30 -year period). T he AOC does not obligate us to fund or perform the remedial action contemplated by either the draft RI/FS or the FFS. Vulcan formerly owned a chemicals operation near River Mile 0.1, which was sold in 1974. The Company has found no evidence that its former chemicals operation contributed any of the primary contaminants of concern to the River. Neither the ultimate remedial approach, nor the parties who will participate in funding the remediation and their respective allocations, have been determined. However, we have estimated the cost to be incurred by us under the remedial approach most likely to be prescribed by the EPA in their final record of decision an d recorded an immaterial loss for this matter in 2015. § TEXAS BRINE MATTER — During the operation of its former Chemicals Division, Vulcan was the lessee to a salt lease from 1976 – 2005 in an underground salt dome formation in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. The Texas Brine Company (Texas Brine) operated this salt mine for the account of Vulcan. Vulcan sold its Chemicals Division in 2005 and assigned the lease to the purchaser, and Vulcan has had no association with the leased premises or Texas Brine since that time. In August 2012, a sinkhole developed near the salt dome and numerous lawsuits were filed in state court in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. Other lawsuits, including class action litigation, were also filed in August 2012 in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. There are numerous defendants to the litigation in state and federal court. Vulcan was first brought into the litigation as a third-party defendant in August 2013 by Texas Brine. Vulcan has since been added as a direct and third-party defendant by other parties, including a direct claim by the state of Louisiana. The damages alleged in the litigation range from individual plaintiffs’ claims for property damage, to the state of Louisiana’s claim for response costs, to claims for physical damages to oil pipelines, to business interruption claims. In addition to the plaintiffs’ claims, Vulcan has also been sued for contractual indemnity and comparative fault by both Texas Brine and Occidental Chemical Co. (Occidental). The total amount of damages claimed is in excess of $500 million. It is alleged that the sinkhole was caused, in whole or in part, by Vulcan’s negligent actions or failure to act. It is also alleged that Vulcan breached the salt lease, as well as an operating agreement and a drilling agreement with Texas Brine; and that Vulcan is strictly liable for certain property damages in its capacity as a former assignee of the salt lease; and that Vulcan violated certain covenants and conditions in the agreement under which it sold its Chemicals Division in 2005. Vulcan has made claims for contractual indemnity, comparative fault, and breach of contract against Texas Brine, as well as claims for contractual indemnity and comparative fault against Occidental. Discovery is ongoing and the first trial date in any of these cases has been set for March 2017. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate a range of liability pertaining to this matter. § HEWITT LANDFILL MATTER — On September 8, 2015, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) issued a Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) directing Vulcan to assess, monitor, cleanup and abate wastes that have been discharged to soil, soil vapor, and/or groundwater at the former Hewitt Landfill in Los Angeles. The CAO follows a 2014 Investigative Order from RWQCB that sought data and a technical evaluation regarding the Hewitt Landfill, and a subsequent amendment to the Investigative Order requiring Vulcan to provide groundwater monitoring results to RWQCB and to create and implement a work plan for further investigation of the Hewitt Landfill. Vulcan is engaged in performing site investigation wor k t o develop an interim-remedial action plan due in the second quarter of 2016 as required by the CAO. At this time, we are unable to estimate the cost of the interim-remedial action plan but have fully accrued the costs of the site investigation work. Vulcan is also engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and other stakeholders regarding the potential contribution of the Hewitt Landfill to groundwater contamination in the San Fernando Valley. We are gathering and analyzing data and developing technical information to determine the extent of possible contribution by the Hewitt Landfill to the groundwater contamination in the area. This work is also intended to assist in identification of other sources of contamination. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate a range of liability pertaining to this matter. It is not possible to predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of these and other legal proceedings in which we are involved and a number of factors, including developments in ongoing discovery or adverse rulings, or the verdict of a particular jury, could cause actual losses to differ materially from accrued costs. No liability was recorded for claims and litigation for which a loss was determined to be only reasonably possible or for which a loss could not be reasonably estimated. Legal costs incurred in defense of lawsuits are expensed as incurred. In addition, losses on certain claims and litigation described above may be subject to limitations on a per occurrence basis by excess insurance, as described in Note 1 under the caption Claims and Litigation Including Self-insurance.

EQUITY

EQUITY	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
EQUITY [Abstract]
EQUITY	NOTE 13: EQUITY Our capital stock consists solely of common stock, par value $1.00 per share. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share. Our Certificate of Incorporation also authorizes preferred stock, of which no shares have been issued. The terms and provisions of such shares will be determined by our Board of Directors upon any issuance of preferred shares in accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation. In 2014, we issued 715,004 shares of common stock in connection with a business acquisition as described in Note 19. Under a program that was discontinued in the fourth quarter of 2014, we occasionally sold shares of common stock to the trustee of our 401(k) retirement plan to satisfy the plan participants' elections to invest in our common stock. Under this arrangement, the stock issuances and resulting cash proceeds for the years ended December 31 were as follows: § 2014 — issued 485,306 shares for cash proceeds of $30,620,000 § 2013 — issued 71,208 shares for cash proceeds of $3,821,000 There were no shares held in treasury as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. During 2015, we purchased and retired 228,000 shares for a cost of $21,475,000 ; no shares were purchased in 2014 and 2013. As of December 31, 2015, 3,183,416 shares may be repurchased under the current purchase authorization of our Board of Directors.

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME [Abstract]
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME	NOTE 14: OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Comprehensive income comprises two subsets: net earnings and other comprehensive income (OCI). The components of other comprehensive income are presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and Consolidated Statements of Equity, net of applicable taxes. Amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI), net of tax, at December 31, are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 AOCI Cash flow hedges $ (14,494) $ (20,322) $ (25,178) Pension and postretirement plans (105,575) (141,392) (74,453) Total $ (120,069) $ (161,714) $ (99,631) Changes in AOCI, net of tax, for the three year s ended December 31, 2015 are as follows: Pension and Cash Flow Postretirement in thousands Hedges Benefit Plans Total AOCI Balance as of December 31, 2012 $ (28,170) $ (197,347) $ (225,517) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 111,883 111,883 Amounts reclassified from AOCI 2,992 11,011 14,003 Net current year OCI changes 2,992 122,894 125,886 Balance as of December 31, 2013 $ (25,178) $ (74,453) $ (99,631) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 (69,051) (69,051) Amounts reclassified from AOCI 4,856 2,112 6,968 Net current year OCI changes 4,856 (66,939) (62,083) Balance as of December 31, 2014 $ (20,322) $ (141,392) $ (161,714) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 23,832 23,832 Amounts reclassified from AOCI 5,828 11,985 17,813 Net current year OCI changes 5,828 35,817 41,645 Balance as of December 31, 2015 $ (14,494) $ (105,575) $ (120,069) Amounts reclassified from AOCI to earnings, are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Reclassification Adjustment for Cash Flow Hedge Losses Interest expense $ 9,759 $ 7,988 $ 5,077 (Benefit from) provision for income taxes (3,931) (3,132) (2,085) Total 1 $ 5,828 $ 4,856 $ 2,992 Amortization of Pension and Postretirement Plan Actuarial Loss and Prior Service Cost Cost of revenues $ 15,916 $ 2,789 $ 14,516 Selling, administrative and general expenses 3,608 688 3,616 (Benefit from) provision for income taxes (7,539) (1,365) (7,121) Total 2 $ 11,985 $ 2,112 $ 11,011 Total reclassifications from AOCI to earnings $ 17,813 $ 6,968 $ 14,003 1 Totals for 2015 and 2014 include the acceleration of a proportional amount of deferred losses on interest rate derivatives (see Note 5) referable to debt purchases (see Note 6). 2 Total for 2015 includes a one-time settlement loss resulting from a lump sum payment to a former employee (see Note 10). Total for 2014 includes a one-time curtailment gain (see Note 10) resulting from the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19).

SEGMENT REPORTING

SEGMENT REPORTING	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SEGMENT REPORTING [Abstract]
SEGMENT REPORTING	NOTE 15: SEGMENT REPORTING We have four operating (and reportable ) segments organized around our principal product lines: Aggregates, Asphalt Mix, Concrete and Calcium. The Aggregates segment produces and sells aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates) and related products and services (transportation and other). During 2015, the Aggregates segment principally served markets in twenty states, Washington D.C. and Mexico with a full line of aggregates, and six additional states with railroad ballast. Customers use aggregates primarily in the construction and maintenance of highways, streets and other public works and in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial and other nonresidential facilities. Customers are served by truck, rail and water distribution networks from our production facilities and sales yards. Due to the high weight-to-value ratio of aggregates, markets generally are local in nature. Quarries located on waterways and rail lines allow us to serve remote markets where local aggregates reserves may not be available. We sell a relatively small amount of construction aggregates outside the United States. Nondomestic revenues were $11,408,000 in 2015, $14,699,000 in 2014 and $12,339,000 in 2013. The Asphalt Mix segment produces and sells asphalt mix in four states primarily in our southwestern and western markets. The Concrete segment produces and sells ready-mixed concrete in six states, Washington D.C. and an immaterial amount in the Bahamas. In January 2015, we swapped our ready-mixed concrete operations in California (see Note 19) for asphalt mix operations, primarily in Arizona. In March 2014, we sold our concrete business in the Florida area (see Note 19) which in addition to ready-mixed concrete, included concrete block, precast concrete, as well as building materials purchased for resale. The Calcium segment consists of a Florida facility that mines, produces and sells calcium products. Prior to the sale of our cement business in March 2014 (see Note 19), we produced and sold Portland and masonry cement in both bulk and bags from our Florida cement plant and imported and exported cement, clinker and slag and either resold, ground, blended, bagged or reprocessed those materials from other Florida facilities. Aggregates comprise approximately 95% of asphalt mix by weight and 80% of ready-mixed concrete by weight. Our Asphalt Mix and Concrete segments are primarily supplied with their aggregates requirements from our Aggregates segment. These intersegment sales are made at local market prices for the particular grade and quality of product utilized in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. Customers for our Asphalt Mix and Concrete segments are generally served locally at our production facilities or by truck. Because asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete harden rapidly, delivery is time constrained and generally confined to a radius of approximately 20 to 25 miles from the producing facility. The vast majority of our activities are domestic. Long-lived assets outside the United States, which consist primarily of property, plant & equipment, were $160,125,000 in 2015, $139,427,000 in 2014 and $140,504,000 in 2013. Equity method investments of $22,967,000 in 2015, $22,924,000 in 2014 and $22,962,000 in 2013 are included below in the identifiable assets for the Aggregates segment. SEGMENT FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Total Revenues Aggregates 1 $ 2,777,758 $ 2,346,411 $ 2,025,026 Asphalt Mix 2 530,692 445,538 407,657 Concrete 2, 3 299,252 375,806 471,748 Calcium 4 8,596 25,032 99,004 Segment sales $ 3,616,298 $ 3,192,787 $ 3,003,435 Aggregates intersegment sales (194,117) (189,393) (185,385) Calcium intersegment sales 0 (9,225) (47,341) Total revenues $ 3,422,181 $ 2,994,169 $ 2,770,709 Gross Profit Aggregates $ 755,666 $ 544,070 $ 413,301 Asphalt Mix 2 78,225 38,080 32,704 Concrete 2, 3 20,152 2,233 (24,774) Calcium 4 3,490 3,199 5,649 Total $ 857,533 $ 587,582 $ 426,880 Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization (DDA&A) Aggregates $ 228,466 $ 227,042 $ 224,808 Asphalt Mix 2 16,378 10,719 8,697 Concrete 2, 3 11,374 19,892 32,996 Calcium 4 679 1,554 18,093 Other 17,926 20,290 22,514 Total $ 274,823 $ 279,497 $ 307,108 Capital Expenditures 5 Aggregates $ 269,014 $ 180,026 $ 253,000 Asphalt Mix 2 8,111 20,796 17,089 Concrete 2, 3 19,053 19,542 13,054 Calcium 4 0 201 198 Corporate 7,846 2,532 1,277 Total $ 304,024 $ 223,097 $ 284,618 Identifiable Assets 6 Aggregates $ 7,540,273 $ 7,311,336 $ 7,006,724 Asphalt Mix 2 251,716 264,172 195,046 Concrete 2, 3 198,193 227,000 370,103 Calcium 4 5,509 5,818 413,296 Total identifiable assets 7,995,691 7,808,326 7,985,169 General corporate assets 21,881 91,498 54,207 Cash items 284,060 141,273 193,738 Total assets $ 8,301,632 $ 8,041,097 $ 8,233,114 1 Includes product sales, as well as freight, delivery and transportation revenues, and other revenues related to services. 2 In January 2015, we exchanged our California ready-mixed concrete operations for 13 asphalt mix plants, primarily in Arizona (see Note 19). 3 In March 2014, we sold our concrete business in the Florida area (see Note 19). 4 Includes cement and calcium products. In March 2014, we sold our cement business (see Note 19). 5 Capital expenditures include capitalized replacements of and additions to property, plant & equipment, including capitalized leases, renewals and betterments. Capital expenditures exclude property, plant & equipment obtained by business acquisitions. 6 Certain temporarily idled assets are included within a segment's Identifiable Assets but the associated DDA&A is shown within Other in the DDA&A section above as the related DDA&A is excluded from segment gross profit.

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMAT

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION [Abstract]
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION	NOTE 16: SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION Supplemental information referable to the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows is summarized below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Cash Payments Interest (exclusive of amount capitalized) $ 208,288 $ 241,841 $ 196,794 Income taxes 53,623 79,862 30,938 Noncash Investing and Financing Activities Accrued liabilities for purchases of property, plant & equipment $ 31,883 $ 17,120 $ 18,864 Amounts referable to business acquisitions Liabilities assumed 2,645 26,622 232 Fair value of noncash assets and liabilities exchanged 20,000 2,414 0 Fair value of equity consideration 0 45,185 0

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS [Abstract]
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS	NOTE 17: ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS Asset retirement obligations (AROs) are legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets resulting from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal use of the underlying assets. Recognition of a liability for an ARO is required in the period in which it is incurred at its estimated fair value. The associated asset retirement costs are capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the underlying asset and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset. The liability is accreted through charges to operating expenses. If the ARO is settled for other than the carrying amount of the liability, we recognize a gain or loss on settlement. We record all AROs for which we have legal obligations for land reclamation at estimated fair value. Essentially all these AROs relate to our underlying land parcels, including both owned properties and mineral leases. For the years ended December 31, we recognized ARO operating costs related to accretion of the liabilities and depreciation of the assets as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 ARO Operating Costs Accretion $ 11,474 $ 11,601 $ 10,685 Depreciation 6,515 4,462 3,527 Total $ 17,989 $ 16,063 $ 14,212 ARO operating costs are reported in cost of revenues. AROs are reported within other noncurrent liabilities in our accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Reconciliations of the carrying amounts of our AROs for the years ended December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Asset Retirement Obligations Balance at beginning of year $ 226,565 $ 228,234 Liabilities incurred 6,235 9,130 Liabilities settled (18,048) (26,547) Accretion expense 11,474 11,601 Revisions, net 368 4,147 Balance at end of year $ 226,594 $ 226,565 The ARO liabilities incurred during 2015 and 2014 relate primarily to acquisitions (see Note 19). ARO liabilities settled during 2015 and 2014 include $13,117,000 and $18,637,000 , respectively, of reclamation activities required under a development agreement and conditional use permits at two adjacent aggregates sites on owned property in Southern California. The reclamation required under the development agreement will result in the restoration and development of 90 acres of previously mined property suitable for commercial and retail development.

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS [Abstract]
GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS	NOTE 18: GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS Acquired identifiable intangible assets are classified into three categories: (1) goodwill, (2) intangible assets with finite lives subject to amortization and (3) intangible assets with indefinite lives. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized; rather, they are reviewed for impairment at least annually. For additional information regarding our policies on impairment reviews, see Note 1 under the captions Goodwill and Goodwill Impairment, and Impairment of Long-lived Assets excluding Goodwill. GOODWILL Goodwill is recognized when the consideration paid for a business exceeds the fair value of the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is allocated to reporting units for purposes of testing goodwill for impairment. There were no charges for goodwill impairment in the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. We have four reportable segments organized around our principal product lines: Aggregates, Asphalt Mix, Concrete and Calcium. Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by reportable segment for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are summarized below: in thousands Aggregates Asphalt Mix Concrete Calcium Total Goodwill Total as of December 31, 2012 $ 2,995,083 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,086,716 Goodwill of divested businesses 1 (5,195) 0 0 0 (5,195) Total as of December 31, 2013 $ 2,989,888 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,081,521 Goodwill of acquired businesses 1 13,303 0 0 0 13,303 Total as of December 31, 2014 $ 3,003,191 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,094,824 Total as of December 31, 2015 $ 3,003,191 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,094,824 1 Refer to Note 19 for additional details. We test goodwill for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently if events or circumstances change in a manner that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. A decrease in the estimated fair value of one or more of our reporting units could result in the recognition of a material, noncash write-down of goodwill. INTANGIBLE ASSETS Intangible assets acquired in business combinations are stated at their fair value determined as of the date of acquisition. Costs incurred to renew or extend the life of existing intangible assets are capitalized. These capitalized renewal/extension costs were immaterial for the years presented. Intangible assets consist of contractual rights in place (primarily permitting and zoning rights), noncompetition agreements, favorable lease agreements, customer relationships and trade names and trademarks. Intangible assets acquired individually or otherwise obtained outside a business combination consist primarily of permitting, permitting compliance and zoning rights and are stated at their historical cost less accumulated amortization. See Note 19 for the details of the intangible assets acquired in business acquisitions during 2015, 2014 and 2013. Amortization of finite-lived intangible assets is computed based on the estimated life of the intangible assets. Contractual rights in place associated with aggregates reserves are amortized using the unit-of-production method based on estimated recoverable units. Other intangible assets are amortized principally by the straight-line method. Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. As shown in Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements, we incurred $2,858,000 of impairment charges related to intangible assets in 2015. There were no charges for impairment of intangible assets in the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization by major intangible asset class for the years ended December 31 are summarized below: in thousands 2015 2014 Gross Carrying Amount Contractual rights in place $ 735,935 $ 719,100 Noncompetition agreements 2,800 2,550 Favorable lease agreements 16,677 16,677 Permitting, permitting compliance and zoning rights 99,513 93,273 Other 1 4,092 4,067 Total gross carrying amount $ 859,017 $ 835,667 Accumulated Amortization Contractual rights in place $ (65,641) $ (54,019) Noncompetition agreements (506) (119) Favorable lease agreements (4,002) (3,489) Permitting, permitting compliance and zoning rights (20,350) (18,270) Other 1 (1,939) (1,527) Total accumulated amortization $ (92,438) $ (77,424) Total Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization, net $ 766,579 $ 758,243 Intangible Assets with Indefinite Lives 0 0 Total Intangible Assets, net $ 766,579 $ 758,243 Amortization Expense for the Year $ 15,618 $ 10,966 1 Includes customer relationships and tradenames and trademarks. Estimated amortization expense for the five years subsequent to December 31, 2015 is as follows: in thousands Estimated Amortization Expense for Five Subsequent Years 2016 $ 19,946 2017 20,797 2018 21,702 2019 19,746 2020 20,247

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES [Abstract]
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES	NOTE 19: ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES ACQUISITIONS During 2015, the following assets were acquired for $ 47,198,000 of consideration (( $27,198,000 cash and $20,000,000 exchanges of real property and businesses ( twelve California ready-mixed concrete operations)): § one aggregates facility in Tennessee § three aggregates facilities and seven ready-mixed concrete operations in Arizona and New Mexico § thirteen asphalt mix plants, primarily in Arizona The 2015 acquisitions listed above are reported in our consolidated financial statements as of their respective acquisition dates. The amounts of total revenues and net earnings for these acquisitions (collectively) are included in our Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for year ended December 31, 2015 , as follows: in thousands 2015 Actual Results Total revenues $ 67,002 Net earnings 1,938 None of the 2015 acquisitions listed above are material to our results of operations or financial position either individually or collectively. The fair value of consideration transferred for these acquisitions and the preliminary amounts of assets acquired and liabilities assumed (based on their estimated fair values at their acquisition dates), are summarized below: in thousands 2015 Fair Value of Purchase Consideration Cash $ 27,198 Exchanges of real property and businesses 20,000 Total fair value of purchase consideration $ 47,198 Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed Accounts and notes receivable, net $ 2,105 Inventories 3,559 Other current assets 358 Property, plant & equipment, net 26,087 Other intangible assets Contractual rights in place 17,484 Noncompetition agreement 250 Liabilities assumed (2,645) Net identifiable assets acquired $ 47,198 Goodwill $ 0 Estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed are preliminary pending appraisals of contractual rights in place and property, plant & equipment. The contractual rights in place noted above will be amortized against earnings ( $ 7,168,000 - straight-line over 20 years and $10,317,000 - units of production over an estimated 34 years) and deductible for income tax purposes over 15 years. During 2014, we purchased the following for total consideration of $ 331,836 ,000 ( $284,237,000 cash, $2,414,000 exchanges of real property and businesses and $45,185,000 of our common stock ( 715,004 shares)): § two portable asphalt plants and an aggregates facility in southern California § five aggregates facilities and associated downstream assets in Arizona and New Mexico § two aggregates facilities in Delaware, serving northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. § four aggregates facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area § a rail-connected aggregates operation and two distribution yards that serve the greater Dallas/Fort Worth market § a permitted aggregates quarry in Alabama None of the 2014 acquisitions listed above were material to our results of operations or financial position either individually or collectively. As a result of these 2014 acquisitions, we recognized $128,286,000 of amortizable intangible assets (primarily contractual rights in place). The contractual rights in place will be amortized against earnings using the unit-of-production method over an estimated weighted-average period in excess of 40 years and all but $36,921,000 will be deductible for income tax purposes over 15 years. The $13,303,000 of goodwill recognized (none of which will be deductible for income tax purposes) represents the balance of deferred tax liabilities generated from carrying over the seller’s tax basis in the assets acquired. DIVESTITURES As noted above, in the first quarter of 2015, we exchanged twelve ready-mixed concrete operations in California (representing all of our California concrete operations) for thirteen asphalt mix plants (primarily in Arizona) resulting in a pretax gain of $5,886, 000 . In 2014, we sold: § First quarter — our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area for net pretax cash proceeds of $721,359,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $227,910,000 . We retained all of our Florida aggregates operations, our former Cement segment’s calcium operation in Brooksville, Florida and real estate associated with certain former ready-mixed concrete facilities. Under a separate supply agreement, we continue to provide aggregates to the divested concrete facilities, at market prices, for a period of 20 years. As a result of the continuing cash flows (generated via the supply agreement and the retained operation and assets), the disposition is not reported as discontinued operations § First quarter — a previously mined and subsequently reclaimed tract of land in Maryland (Aggregates segment) for net pretax cash proceeds of $10,727,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $168,000 § First quarter — unimproved land in Tennessee previously containing a sales yard (Aggregates segment) for net pretax cash proceeds of $5,820,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $5,790,000 In 2013, we sold: § Third quarter — reclaimed land associated with a former site of a ready-mixed concrete facility in Virginia for net pretax cash proceeds of $11,261,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $9,027,000 § Third quarter — a percentage of the future production from aggregates reserves at certain owned quarries. The sale was structured as a volumetric production payment (VPP) for which we received gross cash proceeds of $154,000,000 and incurred transaction costs of $905,000 . The net proceeds were recorded as deferred revenue and are amortized on a unit-of-sales basis to revenues over the term of the VPP . See Note 1, caption Deferred Revenue, for the key terms of the VPP § Second quarter — four aggregates production facilities in Wisconsin for net pretax cash proceeds of $34,743,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $21,183,000 . We allocated $4,521,000 of goodwill to these dispositions based on the relative fair values of the businesses disposed of and the portion of the reporting unit retained. Additionally, the dispositions of these facilities will likely result in a partial withdrawal from one of our multiemployer pension plans; therefore, we recognized a $4,000,000 liability related to this plan § First quarter — one aggregates production facility in Wisconsin and its related replacement reserve land for net pretax cash proceeds of $5,133,000 resulting in a pretax gain of $2,802,000 . We allocated $674,000 of goodwill to this disposition based on the relative fair value of the business disposed of and the portion of the reporting unit retained PENDING DIVESTITURES There were no pending divestitures classified as assets held for sale as of December 31, 2015. Conversely, the twelve ready-mixed concrete operations in California (exchanged for thirteen asphalt mix plants as noted above) sold in the first quarter of 2015 are presented in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2014 as assets held for sale. The major classes of assets and liabilities of assets classified as held for sale as of December 31 are as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 Held for Sale Current assets $ 0 $ 1,773 Property, plant & equipment, net 0 12,764 Other intangible assets, net 0 647 Total assets held for sale $ 0 $ 15,184 Asset retirement obligations $ 0 $ 520 Total liabilities of assets held for sale $ 0 $ 520 Effective land management is both a business strategy and a social responsibility. We strive to achieve value through our mining activities as well as incremental value through effective post-mining land management. Our land management strategy includes routinely reclaiming and selling our previously mined land. Additionally, this strategy includes developing conservation banks by preserving land as a suitable habitat for endangered or sensitive species. These conservation banks have received approval from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to offer mitigation credits for sale to third parties who may be required to compensate for the loss of habitats of endangered or sensitive species.

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA [Abstract]
UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	NOTE 20: UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA The following is a summary of selected quarterly financial information (unaudited) for each of the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014: 2015 Three Months Ended in thousands, except per share data March 31 June 30 Sept 30 Dec 31 Total revenues $ 631,293 $ 895,143 $ 1,038,460 $ 857,285 Gross profit 77,865 234,449 291,290 253,929 Operating earnings 10,759 153,776 212,206 173,037 Earnings (loss) from continuing operations (36,667) 49,819 126,202 93,560 Net earnings (loss) (39,678) 48,162 123,805 88,888 Basic earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.28) $ 0.37 $ 0.95 $ 0.70 Diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.28) $ 0.37 $ 0.93 $ 0.69 Basic net earnings (loss) per share $ (0.30) $ 0.36 $ 0.93 $ 0.67 Diluted net earnings (loss) per share $ (0.30) $ 0.36 $ 0.91 $ 0.65 2014 Three Months Ended in thousands, except per share data March 31 June 30 Sept 30 Dec 31 Total revenues $ 574,420 $ 791,143 $ 873,579 $ 755,027 Gross profit 34,092 174,788 209,042 169,660 Operating earnings 1 194,669 103,246 140,331 99,892 Earnings from continuing operations 1 54,505 46,511 67,781 38,349 Net earnings 1 53,995 45,967 66,939 38,022 Basic earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.42 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Basic net earnings per share $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Diluted net earnings per share $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.50 $ 0.28 1 Includes a $227,910 thousand pretax gain on the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area as described in Note 19, primarily recorded in the first quarter.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN28

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
NATURE OF OPERATIONS	NATURE OF OPERATIONS Vulcan Materials Company (the "Company," "Vulcan," "we," "our"), a New Jersey corporation, is the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We operate primarily in the United States and our principal product — aggregates — is used in virtually all types of public and private construction projects and in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We serve markets in twenty states, Washington D.C., and the local markets surrounding our operations in Mexico and the Bahamas. Our primary focus is serving states in metropolitan markets in the United States that are expected to experience the most significant growth in population, households and employment. These three demographic factors are significant drivers of demand for aggregates. While aggregates is our focus and primary business, we produce and sell asphalt mix and/or ready-mixed concrete in our mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Southwestern and Western markets. Due to the 2005 sale of our Chemicals business as described in Note 2, the operating results of the Chemicals business are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.
PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION	PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Vulcan Materials Company and all our majority or wholly-owned subsidiary companies. All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.
USE OF ESTIMATES IN THE PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	USE OF ESTIMATES IN THE PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The preparation of these financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted (GAAP) in the United States of America requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the related disclosures of contingent assets and contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements. We evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and base our estimates on historical experience, current conditions and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities as well as identifying and assessing the accounting treatment with respect to commitments and contingencies. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates. The most significant estimates included in the preparation of these financial statements are related to goodwill and long-lived asset impairments, reclamation costs, pension and other postretirement benefits, environmental compliance, claims and litigation including self-insurance, and income taxes.
BUSINESS COMBINATONS	BUSINESS COMBINA TIO NS We account for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. The total cost of acquisitions is allocated to the underlying identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. Determining the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions.
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES	RESTRU CTURING CHARGES Costs associated with restructuring our operations include severance and related charges to eliminate a specified number of employee positions, costs to relocate employees, contract cancellation costs and charges to vacate facilities and consolidate operations. Relocation, contract cancellation costs and charges to vacate facilities are recognized in the period the liability is incurred. Severance charges for employees, who are required to render service beyond a minimum retention period, generally more than 60 days, are recognized ratably over the retention period; otherwise, the full severance charge is recognized on the date a detailed restructuring plan has been authorized by management and communicated to employees. In 2014, we announced changes to our executive management team, and a new divisional organization structure that was effective January 1, 2015. During 2015 and 2014, we incurred $4,988,000 and $1,308,000 , respectively, of costs related to these initiatives. We do not expect to incur any future material charges related to these initiatives. During 2013, we incurred $1,509,000 of severance costs related to the implementation of a 2012 profit enhancement plan.
CASH EQUIVALENTS	CASH EQUIVALENTS We classify as cash equivalents all highly liquid securities with a maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase. The carrying amount of these securities approximates fair value due to their short-term maturities.
ACCOUNTS AND NOTES RECEIVABLE	ACCOUNTS AND NOTES RECEIVABLE Accounts and notes receivable from customers result from our extending credit to trade customers for the purchase of our products. The terms generally provide for payment within 30 days of being invoiced. On occasion, when necessary to conform to regional industry practices, we sell product under extended payment terms, which may result in either secured or unsecured short-term notes; or, on occasion, notes with durations of less than one year are taken in settlement of existing accounts receivable. Other accounts and notes receivable result from short-term transactions (less than one year) other than the sale of our products, such as interest receivable; insurance claims; freight claims; tax refund claims; bid deposits or rents receivable. Receivables are aged and appropriate allowances for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense are recorded. Bad debt expense for the years ended December 31 was as follows: 2015 — $1,450,000 , 2014 — $2,031,000 and 2013 — $602,000 . Write-offs of accounts receivables for the years ended December 31 were as follows: 2015 — $1,483,000 , 2014 — $2,561,000 and 2013 — $1,946,000 .
INVENTORIES	INVENTORIES Inventories and supplies are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method of valuation for most of our inventories because it results in a better matching of costs with revenues. Such costs include fuel, parts and supplies, raw materials, direct labor and production overhead. An actual valuation of inventory under the LIFO method can be made only at the end of each year based on the inventory levels and costs at that time. Accordingly, interim LIFO calculations are based on our estimates of expected year-end inventory levels and costs and are subject to the final year-end LIFO inventory valuation. Substantially all operating supplies inventory is carried at average cost. For additional information regarding our inventories see Note 3.
PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT	PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT Property, plant & equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization. The cost of properties held under capital leases, if any, is equal to the lower of the net present value of the minimum lease payments or the fair value of the leased property at the inception of the lease. Capitalized software costs of $7,003,000 and $8,753,000 are reflected in net property, plant & equipment as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We capitalized software costs for the years ended December 31 as follows: 2015 — $1,482,000 , 2014 — $921,000 and 2013 — $1,695,000 . For additional information regarding our property, plant & equipment see Note 4.
REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE	REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE Repair and maintenance costs generally are charged to operating expense as incurred. Renewals and betterments that add materially to the utility or useful lives of property, plant & equipment are capitalized and subsequently depreciated. Actual costs for planned major maintenance activities, related primarily to periodic overhauls on our oceangoing vessels, are capitalized and amortized to the next overhaul.
DEPRECIATION, DEPLETION, ACCRETION AND AMORTIZATION	DEPRECIATION, DEPLETION, ACCRETION AND AMORTIZATION Depreciation is generally computed by the straight-line method at rates based on the estimated service lives of the various classes of assets, which include machinery and equipment ( 3 to 25 years), buildings ( 7 to 20 years) and land improvements ( 8 to 20 years). Capitalized software costs are included in machinery and equipment and are depreciated on a straight-line basis beginning when the software project is substantially complete. Cost depletion on depletable land is computed by the unit-of-production method based on estimated recoverable units. Accretion reflects the period-to-period increase in the carrying amount of the liability for asset retirement obligations. It is computed using the same credit-adjusted, risk-free rate used to initially measure the liability at fair value. Leaseholds are amortized over varying periods not in excess of applicable lease terms or estimated useful lives. Amortization of intangible assets subject to amortization is computed based on the estimated life of the intangible assets. A significant portion of our intangible assets is contractual rights in place associated with zoning, permitting and other rights to access and extract aggregates reserves. Contractual rights in place associated with aggregates reserves are amortized using the unit-of-production method based on estimated recoverable units. Other intangible assets are amortized principally by the straight-line method. Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization expense for the years ended December 31 is outlined below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization Depreciation $ 228,866 $ 239,611 $ 271,180 Depletion 18,177 16,741 13,028 Accretion 11,474 11,601 10,685 Amortization of leaseholds 688 578 483 Amortization of intangibles 15,618 10,966 11,732 Total $ 274,823 $ 279,497 $ 307,108
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS	DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS We periodically use derivative instruments to manage our mix of fixed-rate and floating-rate debt and to manage our exposure to cu rrency exchange risk or price fluctuations on commodity energy sources consistent with our risk management policies. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes. Additional disclosures regarding our derivative instruments are presented in Note 5.
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels as described below: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities Level 2: Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data Level 3: Inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement Our assets at December 31 subject to fair value measurement on a recurring basis are summarized below: Level 1 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Mutual funds $ 11,472 $ 15,532 Equities 8,992 11,248 Total $ 20,464 $ 26,780 Level 2 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Common/collective trust funds $ 2,124 $ 1,415 Total $ 2,124 $ 1,415 We have established two Rabbi Trusts for the purpose of providing a level of security for the employee nonqualified retirement and deferred compensation plans and for the directors' nonqualified deferred compensation plans. The fair values of these investments are estimated using a market approach. The Level 1 investments include mutual funds and equity securities for which quoted prices in active markets are available. Level 2 investments are stated at estimated fair value based on the underlying investments in those funds (short-term, highly liquid assets in commercial paper, short-term bonds and certificates of deposit). Net gains (losses) of the Rabbi Trust investments were $(1,517,000) , $1,169,000 and $4,398,000 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The portions of the net gains (losses) related to investments still held by the Rabbi Trusts at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $(1,769,000) , $(1,049,000) and $4,234,000 , respectively. The carrying values of our cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts and notes receivable, short-term debt, trade payables and accruals, and all other current liabilities approximate their fair values because of the short-term nature of these instruments. Additional disclosures for derivative instruments and interest-bearing debt are presented in Notes 5 and 6, respectively. There were no assets or liabilities subject to fair value measurement on a nonrecurring basis in 2013. Assets that were subject to fair value measurement on a nonrecurring basis in 2015 and 2014 are summarized below: Year ending December 31, 2015 Year ending December 31, 2014 Impairment Impairment in thousands Level 2 Charges Level 2 Charges Fair Value Nonrecurring Property, plant & equipment $ 0 $ 2,176 $ 2,172 $ 3,095 Other intangible assets, net 0 2,858 0 0 Other assets 0 156 0 0 Totals $ 0 $ 5,190 $ 2,172 $ 3,095 We recorded $5,190,000 and $3,095,000 of losses on impairment of long-lived assets (reported within other operating expenses, net in our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income) in 2015 and 2014, respectively, reducing the carrying value of these assets to their estimated fair values of $0 and $2,172,000 . Fair value was estimated using a market approach (observed transactions involving comparable assets in similar locations).
GOODWILL AND GOODWILL IMPAIRMENT	GOODWILL AND GOODWILL IMPAIRMENT Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of net assets acquired in business combinations over the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Goodwill impairment exists when the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. As of December 31, 2015, goodwill totaled $3,094,824,000 , the same as at December 31, 2014. Goodwill represents 37% of total assets at December 31, 2015 compared to 38% as of December 31, 2014. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually, as of November 1, or more frequently whenever events or changes in circumstances would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level, one level below our operating segments. We have four operating segments organized around our principal product lines: Aggregates, Asphalt Mix, Concrete and Calcium. Within these four operating segments, we have identified 18 reporting units (of which 9 carry goodwill) based primarily on geographic location. We have the option of either assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the carrying value of our reporting units exceeds their respective fair value or proceeding directly to a two-step quantitative test. We elected to perform the quantitative impairment test for all years presented. The first step of the quantitative impairment test identifies potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill of the reporting unit is not considered impaired and the second step of the impairment test is not required. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the quantitative impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by hypothetically allocating the fair value of the reporting unit to its identifiable assets and liabilities in a manner consistent with a business combination, with any excess fair value representing implied goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The results of the first step of the annual impairment tests performed as of November 1, 2015, 2014 and 2013 indicated that the fair values of all reporting units with goodwill substantially exceeded their carrying values. Accordingly, there were no charges for goodwill impairment in the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 or 2013. We estimate the fair values of the reporting units using both an income approach (which involves discounting estimated future cash flows) and a market approach (which involves the application of revenue and EBITDA multiples of comparable companies). Determining the fair value of our reporting units involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions and considerable management judgment. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable at the time, but such assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainty and actual results may differ. Changes in key assumptions or management judgment with respect to a reporting unit or its prospects, which may result from a change in market conditions, market trends, interest rates or other factors outside of our control, or underperformance relative to historical or projected operating results, could result in a significantly different estimate of the fair value of our reporting units, which could result in an impairment charge in the future. For additional information regarding goodwill see Note 18.
IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS EXCLUDING GOODWILL	IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS EXCLUDING GOODWILL We evaluate the carrying value of long-lived assets, including intangible assets subject to amortization, when events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. The carrying value of long-lived assets is considered impaired when the estimated undiscounted cash flows from such assets are less than their carrying value. In that event, we recognize a loss equal to the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value. Fair value is determined primarily by using a discounted cash flow methodology that requires considerable judgment and assumptions. Our estimate of net future cash flows is based on historical experience and assumptions of future trends, which may be different from actual results. We periodically review the appropriateness of the estimated useful lives of our long-lived assets. We test long-lived assets for impairment at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets. As a result, our long-lived asset impairment test is at a significantly lower level than the level at which we test goodwill for impairment. In markets where we do not produce downstream products (e.g., asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete), the lowest level of largely independent identifiable cash flows is at the individual aggregates operation or a group of aggregates operations collectively serving a local market. Conversely, in vertically integrated markets, the cash flows of our downstream and upstream businesses are not largely independently identifiable as the selling price of the upstream products (aggregates) determines the profitability of the downstream business. As of December 31, 2015, net property, plant & equipment represents 38% of total assets, while net other intangible assets represents 9% of total assets. During 2015, we recorded a $5,190,000 loss on impairment of long-lived assets related to exiting a lease for an aggregates site . During 2014, we recorded a $3,095,000 loss on impairment of long-lived assets related primarily to assets retained in the divestiture of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19). We recorded no asset impairments during 2013. For additional information regarding long-lived assets and intangible assets see Notes 4 and 18.
TOTAL REVENUES AND REVENUE RECOGNITION	TOTAL REVENUES AND REVENUE RECOGNITION Total revenues include sales of product to customers, net of any discounts and taxes, and freight and delivery revenues billed to customers. Freight and delivery generally represents pass-through transportation we incur (including our administrative costs) and pay to third-party carriers to deliver our products to customers. The cost related to freight and delivery is included in cost of revenues. Revenue is recognized at the time the selling price is fixed, the product's title is transferred to the buyer and collectibility of the sales proceeds is reasonably assured (typically occurs when finished products are shipped to the customer).
SALES TAXES	SALES TAXES Sales taxes collected from customers are recorded as liabilities (within other accrued liabilities) until remitted to taxing authorities and therefore, are not reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.
DEFERRED REVENUE	DEFERRED REVENUE In 2013 and 2012, we sold a percentage interest in future production structured as volumetric production payments (VPPs). The VPPs: § relate to eight quarries in Georgia and South Carolina § provide the purchaser solely with a nonoperating percentage interest in the subject quarries’ future production from aggregates reserves § are both time and volume limited § contain no minimum annual or cumulative production or sales volume, nor minimum sales price, guarantees Our consolidated total revenues excludes the sales of aggregates owned by the VPP purchaser. We received net cash proceeds from the sale of the VPPs of $153,282,000 and $73,644,000 for the 2013 and 2012 transactions, respectively. These proceeds were recorded as deferred revenue on the balance sheet and are amortized to revenue on a unit-of-sales basis over the terms of the VPPs (expected to be approximately 25 years, limited by volume rather than time). Reconciliation of the deferred revenue balances (current and noncurrent) is as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Deferred Revenue Balance at beginning of year $ 219,968 $ 224,743 $ 73,583 Cash received and revenue deferred 0 187 153,156 Amortization of deferred revenue (5,908) (4,962) (1,996) Balance at end of year $ 214,060 $ 219,968 $ 224,743 Based on expected s ales from the specified quarries, we expect to recognize approximately $6,400,000 of deferred revenue as income i n 2 01 6 (reflected in other accrued liabilities in our 2015 Consolidated Balance Sheet).
STRIPPING COSTS	STRIPPING COSTS In the mining industry, the costs of removing overburden and waste materials to access mineral deposits are referred to as stripping costs. Stripping costs incurred during the production phase are considered costs of extracted minerals under our inventory costing system, inventoried, and recognized in cost of sales in the same period as the revenue from the sale of the inventory. The production stage is deemed to begin when the activities, including removal of overburden and waste material that may contain incidental saleable material, required to access the saleable product are complete. Stripping costs considered as production costs and included in the costs of inventory produced were $50,409,000 in 2015, $44,896,000 in 2014 and $41,716,000 in 2013. Conversely, stripping costs incurred during the development stage of a mine (pre-production stripping) are excluded from our inventory cost. Pre-production stripping costs are capitalized and reported within other noncurrent assets in our accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Capitalized pre-production stripping costs are expensed over the productive life of the mine using the unit-of-production method. Pre-production stripping costs included in other noncurrent assets were $61,369,000 as of December 31, 2015 and $44,035,000 as of December 31, 2014. This year-over-year increase resulted primarily from the removal of overburden at a greenfield site in California.
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION	SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION We account for share-based compensation awards using fair-value-based measurement methods. These result in the recognition of compensation expense for all share-based compensation awards based on their fair value as of the grant date. Compensation cost is recognized over the requisite service period. We receive an income tax deduction for share-based compensation equal to the excess of the market value of our common stock on the date of exercise or issuance over the exercise price. Tax benefits resulting from tax deductions in excess of the compensation cost recognized (excess tax benefits) are classified as financing cash flows. The $18,376,000 , $3,464,000 , and $161,000 in excess tax benefits classified as financing cash inflows for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows relate to the exercise of stock options and issuance of shares under long-term incentive plans. A summary of the estimated future compensation cost (unrecognized compensation expense) as of December 31, 2015 related to share-based awards granted to employees under our long-term incentive plans is presented below: Unrecognized Expected Compensation Weighted-average dollars in thousands Expense Recognition (Years) Share-based Compensation SOSARs 1 $ 4,882 1.6 Performance and restricted shares 22,271 2.5 Total/weighted-average $ 27,153 2.3 1 Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights (SOSARs) Pretax compensation expense related to our employee share-based compensation awards and related income tax benefits for the years ended December 31 are summarized below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Employee Share-based Compensation Awards Pretax compensation expense $ 16,362 $ 22,217 $ 20,187 Income tax benefits 6,347 8,571 7,833 For additional information regarding share-based compensation, see Note 11 under the caption Share-based Compensation Plans.
RECLAMATION COSTS	RECLAMATION COSTS Reclamation costs resulting from normal use of long-lived assets are recognized over the period the asset is in use when there is a legal obligation to incur these costs upon retirement of the assets. Additionally, reclamation costs resulting from normal use under a mineral lease are recognized over the lease term when there is a legal obligation to incur these costs upon expiration of the lease. The obligation, which cannot be reduced by estimated offsetting cash flows, is recorded at fair value as a liability at the obligating event date and is accreted through charges to operating expenses. This fair value is also capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the underlying asset and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset. If the obligation is settled for other than the carrying amount of the liability, a gain or loss is recognized on settlement. To determine the fair value of the obligation, we estimate the cost ( including a reasonable profit margin) for a third party to perform the legally required reclamation tasks. This cost is then increased for both future estimated inflation and an estimated market risk premium related to the estimated years to settlement. Once calculated, this cost is discounted to fair value using present value techniques with a credit-adjusted, risk-free rate commensurate with the estimated years to settlement. In estimating the settlement date, we evaluate the current facts and conditions to determine the most likely settlement date. If this evaluation identifies alternative estimated settlement dates, we use a weighted-average settlement date considering the probabilities of each alternative. We review reclamation obligations at least annually for a revision to the cost or a change in the estimated settlement date. Additionally, reclamation obligations are reviewed in the period that a triggering event occurs that would result in either a revision to the cost or a change in the estimated settlement date. Examples of events that would trigger a change in the cost include a new reclamation law or amendment of an existing mineral lease. Examples of events that would trigger a change in the estimated settlement date include the acquisition of additional reserves or the closure of a facility. The carrying value of these obligations was $226,594,000 as of December 31, 2015 and $226,565,000 as of December 31, 2014. For additional information regarding reclamation obligations (referred to in our financial statements as asset retirement obligations) see Note 17.
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS Accounting for pension and postretirement benefits requires that we make significant assumptions regarding the valuation of benefit obligations and the performance of plan assets. The primary assumptions are as follows: § Discount Rate — The discount rate is used in calculating the present value of projected benefit payments § Expected Return on Plan Assets — The expected future return on plan assets reduces the recorded net benefit costs § Rate of Compensation Increase — Annual pay increases after 2015 will not increase our pension plan obligations as a result of a 2013 plan amendment § Rate of Increase in the Per Capita Cost of Covered Healthcare Benefits — Increases in the per capita cost after 2015 will not increase our postretirement medical benefits obligation as a result of a 2012 plan amendment to cap medical coverage cost at the 2015 level Accounting standards provide for the delayed recognition of differences between actual results and expected or estimated results. This delayed recognition of actual results allows for a smoothed recognition in earnings of changes in benefit obligations and asset performance. The differences between actual results and expected or estimated results are recognized in full in other comprehensive income. Amounts recognized in other comprehensive income are reclassified to earnings in a systematic manner over the average remaining service period of participants for our active plans or the average remaining lifetime of participants for our inactive plans. For additional information regarding pension and other postretirement benefits see Note 10.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE	ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE Our environmental compliance costs are undiscounted and include the cost of ongoing monitoring programs, the cost of remediation efforts and other similar costs. We accrue costs for environmental assessment and remediation efforts when we determine that a liability is probable and we can reasonably estimate the cost. At the early stages of a remediation effort, environmental remediation liabilities are not easily quantified due to the uncertainties of various factors. The range of an estimated remediation liability is defined and redefined as events in the remediation effort occur, but generally liabilities are recognized no later than completion of the remedial feasibility study. When we can estimate a range of probable loss, we accrue the most likely amount. In the event that no amount in the range of probable loss is considered most likely, the minimum loss in the range is accrued. As of December 31, 2015, the spread between the amount accrued and the maximum loss in the range for all sites for which a range can be reasonably estimated was $3,154,000 . Accrual amounts may be based on technical cost estimations or the professional judgment of experienced environmental managers. Our Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Management Committee routinely reviews cost estimates and key assumptions in response to new information, such as the kinds and quantities of hazardous substances, available technologies and changes to the parties participating in the remediation efforts. H owever, a number of factors, including adverse agency rulings and encountering unanticipated conditions as remediation efforts progress, may cause actual results to differ materially from accrued costs. For additional information regarding environmental compliance costs see Note 8.
CLAIMS AND LITIGATION INCLUDING SELF-INSURANCE	CLAIMS AND LITIGATION INCLUDING SELF-INSURANCE We are involved with claims and litigation, including items covered under our self-insurance program. We are self-insured for losses related to workers' compensation up to $2,000,000 per occurrence and automotive and general/product liability up to $3,000,000 per occurrence. We have excess coverage on a per occurrence basis beyond these retention levels. Under our self-insurance program, we aggregate certain claims and litigation costs that are reasonably predictable based on our historical loss experience and accrue losses, including future legal defense costs, based on actuarial studies. Certain claims and litigation costs, due to their unique nature, are not included in our actuarial studies. We use both internal and outside legal counsel to assess the probability of loss, and establish an accrual when the claims and litigation represent a probable loss and the cost can be reasonably estimated. For matters not included in our actuarial studies, legal defense costs are accrued when incurred. The following table outlines our self-insurance program at December 31: dollars in thousands 2015 2014 Self-insurance Program Self-insured liabilities (undiscounted) $ 44,618 $ 43,731 Insured liabilities (undiscounted) 16,787 17,758 Discount rate 1.44% 1.29% Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets Investments and long-term receivables $ 15,810 $ 16,884 Other accrued liabilities (14,198) (13,131) Other noncurrent liabilities (44,102) (45,569) Net liabilities (discounted) $ (42,490) $ (41,816) Estimated payments (undiscounted) under our self-insurance program for the five years subsequent to December 31, 2015 are as follows: in thousands Estimated Payments under Self-insurance Program 2016 $ 19,001 2017 10,900 2018 7,743 2019 5,063 2020 3,609 Significant judgment is used in determining the timing and amount of the accruals for probable losses, and the actual liability could differ materially from the accrued amounts.
INCOME TAXES	INCOME TAXES We file federal, state and foreign income tax returns and account for the current and deferred tax effects of such returns using the asset and liability method. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities (which reflect our best assessment of the future taxes we will pay) based on the differences between the financial statement’s carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Deferred tax assets represent items to be used as a tax deduction or credit in future tax returns while deferred tax liabilities represent items that will result in additional tax in future tax returns. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining our deferred tax assets and liabilities. These estimates are updated throughout the year to consider income tax return filings, our geographic mix of earnings, legislative changes and other relevant items. Each quarter we analyze the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be realized. Realization of the deferred tax assets ultimately depends on the existence of sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character in either the carryback or carryforward period. A valuation allowance is recorded if, based on the weight of all available positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not (a likelihood of more than 50%) that some portion, or all, of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. A summary of our deferred tax assets is included in Note 9. U.S. income taxes are not provided on foreign earnings when such earnings are indefinitely reinvested offshore. At least annually, we evaluate our investment strategies for each foreign tax jurisdiction in which we operate to determine whether foreign earnings will be indefinitely reinvested offshore. We recognize a tax benefit associated with a tax position when, in our judgment, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained based upon the technical merits of the position. For a tax position that meets the more likely than not recognition threshold, we measure the income tax benefit as the largest amount that we judge to have a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized. A liability is established for the unrecognized portion of any tax position. Our liability for unrecognized tax benefits is adjusted periodically due to changing circumstances, such as the progress of tax audits, case law developments and new or emerging legislation. The years open to tax examinations vary by jurisdiction. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular tax matter, we believe our liability for unrecognized tax benefits is appropriate. We consider a tax position to be resolved at the earlier of the issue being “effectively settled,” settlement of an examination, or the expiration of the statute of limitations. Upon resolution of a tax position, any liability for unrecognized tax benefits will be released. Our liability for unrecognized tax benefits is generally presented as noncurrent. However, if we anticipate paying cash within one year to settle an uncertain tax position, the liability is presented as current. We classify interest and penalties associated with our liability for unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. Our largest permanent item in computing both our taxable income and effective tax rate is the deduction allowed for statutory depletion. The impact of statutory depletion on the effective tax rate is presented in Note 9. The deduction for statutory depletion does not necessarily change proportionately to changes in pretax earnings.
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME	COMPREHENSIVE INCOME We report comprehensive income in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and Consolidated Statements of Equity. Comprehensive income comprises two subsets: net earnings and other comprehensive income (OCI). OCI includes fair value adjustments to cash flow hedges, actuarial gains or losses and prior service costs related to pension and postretirement benefit plans. For additional information regarding comprehensive income see Note 14.
EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS)	EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS) Earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic EPS) or weighted-average common shares outstanding assuming dilution (diluted EPS), as set forth below: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Weighted-average common shares outstanding 133,210 131,461 130,272 Dilutive effect of Stock options/SOSARs 1,027 656 461 Other stock compensation plans 856 874 734 Weighted-average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution 135,093 132,991 131,467 All dilutive common stock equivalents are reflected in our earnings per share calculations. Antidilutive common stock equivalents are not included in our earnings per share calculations. The number of antidilutive common stock equivalents for which the exercise price exceeds the weighted-average market price for the years ended December 31 is as follows: in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Antidilutive common stock equivalents 544 2,352 2,895
RECLASSIFICATIONS	RECLASSIFICATIONS Certain items previously reported in specific financial statement captions have been reclassified to conform with the 2015 presentation. During 2015, we early adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs,” resulting in adjustments to our prior financial statements as noted in the caption (Debt Issuance Costs) below.
NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS	ACCOUNTING STANDARDS RECENTLY ADOPTED DEFERRED TAXES As o f D ecember 31, 2015, we early adopted ASU 2015-17, “Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes” on a prospective basis (i.e., prior balance sheets were not adjusted). Under ASU 2015-17, all deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented as noncurrent in our balance sheet. Under prior guidance, deferred tax assets and liabilities were separately presented as current and noncurrent in our balance sheet. See Note 9 for additional detail. DEBT ISSUANCE COSTS As of and for the interim period ended June 30, 2015, we early adopted ASU 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs.” Under ASU 2015-03, debt issuance costs related to a note are presented in the balance sheet as a deduction from the related debt liability rather than as a prepaid expense (the amortization of such costs continues to be reported as interest expense). However, this ASU did not address the balance sheet presentation of debt issuance cost s incurred before a debt liability is recognized o r a ssociated with revolving debt arrangements, such as our line of credit. Accordingly, we elected an accounting policy to present all debt issuance costs as a deduction from the total debt liability. This ASU and related election are retrospectively applied to the beginning of the earliest period presented in the financial statements. As a result of the retrospective application of this change in accounting principle, we adjusted our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet for the prior period presented. Debt issuance costs of $20,805,000 previously reported as other noncurrent assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2014 were reclassified as a deduction from the principal amount of the total debt liability. SHARE-BASED AWARDS As of and for the interim period ended March 31, 2015, we adopted ASU 2014-12, “Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved After the Requisite Service Period.” This ASU clarified the proper method of accounting for share-based awards when the terms of an award provide that a performance target could be achieved after the requisite service perio d. U nder ASU 2014-12, a performance target that affects vesting and could be achieved after completion of the service period should be treated as a performance condition and, as a result, should not be included in the estimation of the grant-date fair value. Rather, an entity should recognize compensation cost for the award when it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved. Historically , we accounted for share-based awards with these types of performance targets consistent with the clarification in A SU 2014-12. Our adoption of this standard had no material impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS REPORTING As of and for the interim period ended March 31, 2015, we adopted ASU 2014-08, “Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity.” This ASU changed the definition of and expanded the disclosure requirements for discontinued operations. Under the new definition, discontinued operations reporting is limited to disposals of components of an entity that represent strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The expanded disclosures for discontinued operations are meant to provide users of financial statements with more information about the assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses of discontinued operations. Additionally, this ASU requires an entity to disclose the pretax profit or loss of an individually significant component of an entity that does not qualify for discontinued operations reporting. Our adoption of this standard had no material impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity. ACCOUNTING STANDARDS PENDING ADOPTION CLASSIFICATION AND MEASUREMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS In January 2016 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU 2016-01, “Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities,” which amends certain aspects of current guidance on the recognition, measurement and disclosure of financial instruments. Among other changes, this ASU requires most equity investments be measured at fair value. Additionally, the ASU eliminates the requirement to disclose the method and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value for instruments not recognized at fair value in our financial statements. This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the interim period ending March 31, 2018. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. MEASUREMENT-PERIOD ADJUSTMENTS In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-16, “Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments,” which requires an acquirer to recognize measurement-period adjustments to provisional amounts in the reporting period in which the adjustments are determined. Previously, measurement-period adjustments were retrospectively applied. As an alternative to restating the prior periods for the measurement-period adjustments, the ASU requires acquirers to present separately on the face of the earnings statement, or disclose in the notes, the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustments to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. This ASU is to be applied prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the interim period ending March 31, 2016. While we are still evaluating the impact of ASU 2015-16, we do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. INVENTORY MEASUREMENT In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, “Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory,” which changes the measurement principle for inventory from the lower of cost or market principle to the lower of cost and net realizable value principle. The guidance applies to inventories that are measured using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) or average cost method, but does not apply to inventories that are measured by using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) or retail inventory method. We use the LIFO method for approximately 67% of our inventory (based on the December 31, 2015 balances); therefore, this ASU will not apply to the majority of our inventory. This ASU is effective prospectively for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the interim period ending March 31, 2017. While we are still evaluating the impact of ASU 2015-11, we do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE INVESTMENTS In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-07, “Disclosures for Investment in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent),” which removes the requirement to categorize investments within the fair value hierarchy when their fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. This ASU also removes the requirement to make certain disclosures for investments that are eligible to be measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. Rather, those disclosures would be limited to investments for which the entity has elected to measure the fair value using that practical expedient. This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. This ASU is to be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the interim period ending March 31, 2016. While we are still evaluating the impact of ASU 2015-07, it will not impact our consolidated financial statements as it only affects disclosure. Thus, it will impact the notes to our consolidated financial statements, specifically, our pension plan fair value disclosures. CONSOLIDATION In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, “Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis,” which amends existing consolidation guidance for reporting entities that are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the interim period ending March 31, 2016. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. GOING CONCERN In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, “Disclosure of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” which requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern (meet its obligations as they become due) within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. If conditions or events raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, certain disclosures are required. This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. We will adopt this standard as of and for the annual period ending December 31, 2016. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. REVENUE RECOGNITION In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue From Contracts With Customers,” which outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. This ASU provides a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues and expands required revenue recognition disclosures. This ASU (as later amended) is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption of this ASU on our consolidated financial statements.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN29

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization Expense	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization Depreciation $ 228,866 $ 239,611 $ 271,180 Depletion 18,177 16,741 13,028 Accretion 11,474 11,601 10,685 Amortization of leaseholds 688 578 483 Amortization of intangibles 15,618 10,966 11,732 Total $ 274,823 $ 279,497 $ 307,108
Fair Value Measurement on Recurring Basis	Level 1 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Mutual funds $ 11,472 $ 15,532 Equities 8,992 11,248 Total $ 20,464 $ 26,780 Level 2 in thousands 2015 2014 Fair Value Recurring Rabbi Trust Common/collective trust funds $ 2,124 $ 1,415 Total $ 2,124 $ 1,415
Fair Value Measurement on Nonrecurring Basis	Year ending December 31, 2015 Year ending December 31, 2014 Impairment Impairment in thousands Level 2 Charges Level 2 Charges Fair Value Nonrecurring Property, plant & equipment $ 0 $ 2,176 $ 2,172 $ 3,095 Other intangible assets, net 0 2,858 0 0 Other assets 0 156 0 0 Totals $ 0 $ 5,190 $ 2,172 $ 3,095
Reconciliation of Deferred Revenue Balances	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Deferred Revenue Balance at beginning of year $ 219,968 $ 224,743 $ 73,583 Cash received and revenue deferred 0 187 153,156 Amortization of deferred revenue (5,908) (4,962) (1,996) Balance at end of year $ 214,060 $ 219,968 $ 224,743
Unrecognized Compensation Expense	Unrecognized Expected Compensation Weighted-average dollars in thousands Expense Recognition (Years) Share-based Compensation SOSARs 1 $ 4,882 1.6 Performance and restricted shares 22,271 2.5 Total/weighted-average $ 27,153 2.3 1 Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights (SOSARs)
Pretax Compensation Expense	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Employee Share-based Compensation Awards Pretax compensation expense $ 16,362 $ 22,217 $ 20,187 Income tax benefits 6,347 8,571 7,833
Liabilities Under Self-Insurance Program	dollars in thousands 2015 2014 Self-insurance Program Self-insured liabilities (undiscounted) $ 44,618 $ 43,731 Insured liabilities (undiscounted) 16,787 17,758 Discount rate 1.44% 1.29% Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets Investments and long-term receivables $ 15,810 $ 16,884 Other accrued liabilities (14,198) (13,131) Other noncurrent liabilities (44,102) (45,569) Net liabilities (discounted) $ (42,490) $ (41,816)
Estimated Payments (Undiscounted) Under Self-Insurance Program	in thousands Estimated Payments under Self-insurance Program 2016 $ 19,001 2017 10,900 2018 7,743 2019 5,063 2020 3,609
Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Weighted-average common shares outstanding 133,210 131,461 130,272 Dilutive effect of Stock options/SOSARs 1,027 656 461 Other stock compensation plans 856 874 734 Weighted-average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution 135,093 132,991 131,467
Antidilutive Common Stock Equivalents	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Antidilutive common stock equivalents 544 2,352 2,895

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Tables

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Results from Discontinued Operations	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Discontinued Operations Pretax loss $ (19,326) $ (3,683) $ (5,744) Gain on disposal, net of transaction bonus 0 0 11,728 Income tax (provision) benefit 7,589 1,460 (2,358) Earnings (loss) on discontinued operations, net of income taxes $ (11,737) $ (2,223) $ 3,626

INVENTORIES (Tables)

INVENTORIES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INVENTORIES [Abstract]
Inventories	in thousands 2015 2014 Inventories Finished products 1 $ 297,925 $ 275,172 Raw materials 21,765 19,741 Products in process 1,008 1,250 Operating supplies and other 26,375 25,641 Total $ 347,073 $ 321,804 1 Includes inventories encumbered by the purchaser's percentage of vo lumetric production payment s (see Note 1, Deferred Revenue), as follows: December 31, 2015 — $ 4,452 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $ 4,792 thousand.

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Ta

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT [Abstract]
Property, Plant and Equipment	in thousands 2015 2014 Property, Plant & Equipment Land and land improvements 1 $ 2,305,801 $ 2,273,874 Buildings 124,950 126,833 Machinery and equipment 4,124,808 3,952,423 Leaseholds 14,143 13,451 Deferred asset retirement costs 166,252 163,644 Construction in progress 155,333 78,617 Total, gross $ 6,891,287 $ 6,608,842 Less allowances for depreciation, depletion and amortization 3,734,997 3,537,212 Total, net $ 3,156,290 $ 3,071,630 1 Includes depletable land, as follows: December 31, 2015 — $ 1,296,211 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $1,287,225 thousand.
Capitalized Interest Costs and Total Interest Costs Incurred	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Capitalized interest cost $ 2,930 $ 2,092 $ 1,089 Total interest cost incurred before recognition of the capitalized amount 223,518 245,459 203,677

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Tables)

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS [Abstract]
Effects of Changes in Fair Values of Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges	in thousands Location on Statement 2015 2014 2013 Cash Flow Hedges Loss reclassified from AOCI (effective portion) Interest expense $ (9,759) $ (7,988) $ (5,077)
Deferred Gain Amortization	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Deferred Gain on Settlement Amortized to earnings as a reduction to interest expense $ 3,036 $ 10,674 $ 4,334

DEBT (Tables)

DEBT (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
DEBT [Abstract]
Summary of Debt	Effective in thousands Interest Rates 2015 2014 Short-term Debt Bank line of credit expires 2020 1, 2, 3 n/a $ 0 $ 0 Total short-term debt $ 0 $ 0 Long-term Debt Bank line of credit expires 2020 1, 2, 3 1.75% $ 235,000 $ 0 10.125% notes due 2015 n/a 0 150,000 6.50% notes due 2016 n/a 0 125,001 6.40% notes due 2017 n/a 0 218,633 7.00% notes due 2018 7.87% 272,512 400,000 10.375% notes due 2018 10.63% 250,000 250,000 7.50% notes due 2021 7.75% 600,000 600,000 8.85% notes due 2021 8.88% 6,000 6,000 Industrial revenue bond due 2022 n/a 0 14,000 4.50% notes due 2025 4.65% 400,000 0 7.15% notes due 2037 8.05% 240,188 240,188 Other notes 2 6.25% 498 637 Unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs n/a (23,734) (22,716) Unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain 4 n/a 0 3,036 Total long-term debt including current maturities 5 $ 1,980,464 $ 1,984,779 Less current maturities 130 150,137 Total long-term debt $ 1,980,334 $ 1,834,642 Total debt 6 $ 1,980,464 $ 1,984,779 Estimated fair value of long-term debt $ 2,204,816 $ 2,092,673 1 Borrowings on the bank line of credit are classified as short-term debt if we intend to repay within twelve months and as long-term debt otherwise. 2 Non-publicly traded debt. 3 The effective interest rate is the spread over LIBOR as of the balance sheet dates. 4 The unamortized deferred gain was realized upon the August 2011 settlement of interest rate swaps as discussed in Note 5. 5 The debt balances as of December 31, 2014 have been adjusted to reflect our early adoption of ASU 2015-03 and related election as discussed in Note 1 under the caption New Accounting Standards. 6 Face value of our debt is equal to total debt plus unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs, and unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain, as follows : December 31, 2015 — $2,004,198 thousand and December 31, 2014 — $2,004,459 thousand .
Schedule of Principal and Interest Debt Payments	in thousands Total Principal Interest Debt Payments (excluding the line of credit) 2016 $ 125,878 $ 130 $ 125,748 2017 125,878 138 125,740 2018 638,728 522,534 116,194 2019 80,740 23 80,717 2020 80,740 25 80,715
Summary of Standby Letters of Credit	in thousands Standby Letters of Credit Risk management insurance $ 33,111 Reclamation/restoration requirements 5,753 Total $ 38,864

OPERATING LEASES (Tables)

OPERATING LEASES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
OPERATING LEASES [Abstract]
Rental Expense from Continuing Operations under Nonmineral Operating Leases	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Operating Leases Minimum rentals $ 49,461 $ 42,887 $ 40,151 Contingent rentals (based principally on usage) 60,380 56,717 44,111 Total $ 109,841 $ 99,604 $ 84,262
Future Minimum Operating Lease Payments	in thousands Future Minimum Operating Lease Payments 2016 $ 30,945 2017 29,712 2018 26,543 2019 22,455 2020 20,508 Thereafter 128,657 Total $ 258,820

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIA36

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS [Abstract]
Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs	in thousands 2015 2014 Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs Continuing operations $ 6,876 $ 4,919 Retained from former Chemicals business 10,988 4,129 Total $ 17,864 $ 9,048

INCOME TAXES (Tables)

INCOME TAXES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Components of Earnings (Loss) From Continuing Operations before Income Taxes	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Earnings (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes Domestic $ 293,547 $ 264,473 $ (34,239) Foreign 34,310 34,365 30,536 Total $ 327,857 $ 298,838 $ (3,703)
Provision (Benefit) For Income Taxes from Continuing Operations	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes from Continuing Operations Current Federal $ 67,521 $ 47,882 $ (3,691) State and local 14,035 18,983 7,941 Foreign 7,784 7,174 5,423 Total $ 89,340 $ 74,039 $ 9,673 Deferred Federal $ 11,192 $ 13,556 $ (20,581) State and local (4,888) 4,120 (13,542) Foreign (701) (23) (9) Total $ 5,603 $ 17,653 $ (34,132) Total provision (benefit) $ 94,943 $ 91,692 $ (24,459)
Sources and Tax Effects of Differences Between Benefit from Income Taxes and Amount Computed by Applying Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate to Losses from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes	dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Income tax provision (benefit) at the federal statutory tax rate of 35% $ 114,750 35.0% $ 104,594 35.0% $ (1,296) 35.0% Provision for (Benefit from) Income Tax Differences Statutory depletion (27,702) -8.4% (25,774) -8.6% (20,875) 563.7% State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit 5,945 1.8% 15,017 5.0% (3,641) 98.3% U.S. production deduction (5,099) -1.6% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Foreign tax credit carryforwards impairment 6,486 2.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Permanently reinvested foreign earnings (6,396) -2.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Other, net 6,959 2.2% (2,145) -0.7% 1,353 -36.5% Total income tax provision (benefit)/ Effective tax rate $ 94,943 29.0% $ 91,692 30.7% $ (24,459) 660.5%
Components of Net Deferred Income Tax Liability	in thousands 2015 2014 Deferred Tax Assets Related to Employee benefits $ 78,999 $ 97,757 Asset retirement obligations & other reserves 59,507 53,670 Deferred compensation 117,298 121,900 State net operating losses 61,658 59,315 Federal credit carryforwards 34,340 40,212 Other 48,856 52,241 Total gross deferred tax assets 400,658 425,095 Valuation allowance (59,323) (56,867) Total net deferred tax assets $ 341,335 $ 368,228 Deferred Tax Liabilities Related to Property, plant and equipment $ 665,057 $ 661,697 Goodwill/other intangible assets 324,910 329,539 Other 32,464 28,403 Total deferred tax liabilities $ 1,022,431 $ 1,019,639 Net deferred tax liability $ 681,096 $ 651,411
Net Deferred Tax Liability	in thousands 2015 2014 Deferred Income Taxes Current assets 1 $ 0 $ (39,726) Noncurrent liabilities 681,096 691,137 Net deferred tax liability $ 681,096 $ 651,411 1 As discussed in Note 1, we early adopted ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis as of December 31, 2015. Thus, all deferred income taxes as of December 31, 2015 are classified as noncurrent resulting in a $44,464 thousand decrease in current assets with a corresponding decrease in noncurrent liabilities.
Changes in Unrecognized Income Tax Benefits	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1 $ 7,057 $ 12,155 $ 13,550 Increases for tax positions related to Prior years 491 229 28 Current year 942 528 845 Decreases for tax positions related to Prior years 0 (53) (86) Settlements with taxing authorities 0 0 (136) Expiration of applicable statute of limitations (43) (5,802) (2,046) Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31 $ 8,447 $ 7,057 $ 12,155

BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)

BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Combined Funded Status of Plans and their Reconciliation with Related Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Financial Statements	in thousands 2015 2014 Change in Benefit Obligation Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 1,083,222 $ 911,700 Service cost 4,851 4,157 Interest cost 44,065 44,392 Actuarial (gain) loss (63,725) 167,041 Benefits paid (79,960) (44,068) Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 988,453 $ 1,083,222 Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets Fair value of assets at beginning of year $ 816,972 $ 756,624 Actual return on plan assets (5,373) 98,928 Employer contribution 14,047 5,488 Benefits paid (79,960) (44,068) Fair value of assets at end of year $ 745,686 $ 816,972 Funded status (242,767) (266,250) Net amount recognized $ (242,767) $ (266,250) Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets Noncurrent assets $ 0 $ 0 Current liabilities (9,106) (13,719) Noncurrent liabilities (233,661) (252,531) Net amount recognized $ (242,767) $ (266,250) Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial loss $ 222,580 $ 249,867 Prior service credit (404) (356) Total amount recognized $ 222,176 $ 249,511
Components Of Net Periodic Benefit Cost Amounts Recognized In Other Comprehensive Income And Weighted Average Assumptions Of Plans	dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost Service cost $ 4,851 $ 4,157 $ 21,904 Interest cost 44,065 44,392 40,995 Expected return on plan assets (54,736) (50,802) (47,425) Settlement charge 2,031 0 0 Curtailment loss 0 0 855 Amortization of prior service cost 48 188 339 Amortization of actuarial loss 21,641 11,221 20,429 Net periodic pension benefit cost $ 17,900 $ 9,156 $ 37,097 Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial loss (gain) $ (3,615) $ 118,915 $ (163,205) Prior service cost (credit) 0 0 (583) Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic pension benefit cost (23,672) (11,221) (20,429) Reclassification of prior service cost to net periodic pension benefit cost (48) (188) (1,194) Amount recognized in other comprehensive income $ (27,335) $ 107,506 $ (185,411) Amount recognized in net periodic pension benefit cost and other comprehensive income $ (9,435) $ 116,662 $ (148,314) Assumptions Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31 Discount rate 4.14% 4.91% 4.33% Expected return on plan assets 7.50% 7.50% 7.50% Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans) 3.70% 3.50% 3.50% Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31 Discount rate 4.54% 4.14% 4.91% Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans) 3.50% 3.70% 3.50%
Fair values of Pension Plan Assets	Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2015 in thousands Level 1 1 Level 2 1 Level 3 1 Total Asset Category Debt securities $ 0 $ 154,745 $ 0 $ 154,745 Investment funds Commodity funds 0 14,490 0 14,490 Equity funds 647 463,416 0 464,063 Short-term funds 0 9,516 0 9,516 Venture capital and partnerships 0 0 102,872 102,872 Total pension plan assets $ 647 $ 642,167 $ 102,872 $ 745,686 1 See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy. Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2014 in thousands Level 1 1 Level 2 1 Level 3 1 Total Asset Category Debt securities $ 0 $ 164,695 $ 0 $ 164,695 Investment funds Commodity funds 0 19,480 0 19,480 Equity funds 457 506,912 0 507,369 Short-term funds 0 15,495 0 15,495 Venture capital and partnerships 0 0 109,933 109,933 Total pension plan assets $ 457 $ 706,582 $ 109,933 $ 816,972 1 See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy.
Reconciliation of Fair Value Measurements of Pension Plan Assets Using Significant Unobservable Inputs ( Level 3)	Venture Capital and in thousands Partnerships Balance at December 31, 2013 $ 88,482 Total gains (losses) for 2014 1 34,071 Purchases, sales and settlements, net (12,940) Transfers into (out of) Level 3 320 Balance at December 31, 2014 $ 109,933 Total gains (losses) for 2015 1 5,186 Purchases, sales and settlements, net (12,247) Transfers into (out of) Level 3 0 Balance at December 31, 2015 $ 102,872 1 The total gains (losses) for 2015 and 2014 include $47 thousand and $29,329 thousand, respectively, in unrealized gains related to assets still held as of their respective year ends.
Employer Contributions for Plan	in thousands Pension Employer Contributions 2013 $ 4,855 2014 5,488 2015 14,047 2016 (estimated) 9,107
Benefit Payments Which Reflect Expected Future Service, Expected to be Paid	in thousands Pension Estimated Future Benefit Payments 2016 $ 51,286 2017 52,434 2018 55,527 2019 56,835 2020 58,161 2021-2025 305,043
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Combined Funded Status of Plans and their Reconciliation with Related Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Financial Statements	in thousands 2015 2014 Change in Benefit Obligation Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 85,336 $ 92,888 Service cost 1,894 2,146 Interest cost 2,485 3,297 Liability reduction from curtailment 0 (2,639) Actuarial gain (35,195) (2,617) Benefits paid (5,915) (7,739) Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 48,605 $ 85,336 Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets Fair value of assets at beginning of year $ 0 $ 0 Actual return on plan assets 0 0 Fair value of assets at end of year $ 0 $ 0 Funded status $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Net amount recognized $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets Current liabilities $ (6,287) $ (8,964) Noncurrent liabilities (42,318) (76,372) Net amount recognized $ (48,605) $ (85,336) Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial (gain) loss $ (24,325) $ 10,921 Prior service credit (23,928) (28,160) Total amount recognized $ (48,253) $ (17,239)
Components Of Net Periodic Benefit Cost Amounts Recognized In Other Comprehensive Income And Weighted Average Assumptions Of Plans	dollars in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Components of Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost Service cost $ 1,894 $ 2,146 $ 2,830 Interest cost 2,485 3,297 3,260 Curtailment gain 0 (3,832) 0 Amortization of prior service credit (4,232) (4,327) (4,863) Amortization of actuarial loss 37 227 1,372 Net periodic postretirement benefit cost (credit) $ 184 $ (2,489) $ 2,599 Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income Net actuarial (gain) loss $ (35,209) $ (5,256) $ (20,444) Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic postretirement benefit cost (37) (227) (1,372) Reclassification of prior service credit to net periodic postretirement benefit cost 4,232 8,159 4,863 Amount recognized in other comprehensive income $ (31,014) $ 2,676 $ (16,953) Amount recognized in net periodic postretirement benefit cost and other comprehensive income $ (30,830) $ 187 $ (14,354) Assumptions Assumed Healthcare Cost Trend Rates at December 31 Healthcare cost trend rate assumed for next year n/a 7.50% 7.50% Rate to which the cost trend rate gradually declines n/a 5.00% 5.00% Year that the rate reaches the rate it is assumed to maintain n/a 2025 2019 Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31 Discount rate 3.50% 4.10% 3.30% Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31 Discount rate 3.69% 3.50% 4.10%
Employer Contributions for Plan	in thousands Postretirement Employer Contributions 2013 $ 6,258 2014 7,739 2015 5,915 2016 (estimated) 6,287
Benefit Payments Which Reflect Expected Future Service, Expected to be Paid	in thousands Postretirement Estimated Future Benefit Payments 2016 $ 6,287 2017 5,856 2018 5,623 2019 5,415 2020 5,152 2021–2025 19,229
Contributions by Participants to Postretirement Benefit Plans	in thousands Postretirement Participants Contributions 2013 $ 2,022 2014 1,873 2015 2,031

INCENTIVE PLANS (Tables)

INCENTIVE PLANS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
INCENTIVE PLANS [Abstract]
Summary of Activity For Nonvested Performance Share Units	Target Weighted-average Number Grant-date of Shares Fair Value Performance Shares Nonvested at January 1, 2015 1,019,416 $ 53.16 Granted 231,730 74.85 Vested (441,483) 46.22 Canceled/forfeited (3,324) 67.28 Nonvested at December 31, 2015 806,339 $ 63.13
Aggregate Value of Performance Shares	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Aggregate value of distributed performance shares $ 26,258 $ 0 $ 9,286
Weighted-Average Fair Value And Weighted-Average Assumptions Used In Estimating Fair Value of Grants	2015 2014 2013 SOSARs Fair value $ 25.17 $ 21.94 $ 16.96 Risk-free interest rate 1.85% 2.40% 1.40% Dividend yield 1.70% 1.64% 1.72% Volatility 33.00% 33.00% 33.00% Expected term 8.00 years 8.00 years 8.00 years
Summary of Our Stock Option/SOSAR Activity	Weighted-average Remaining Aggregate Number Weighted-average Contractual Intrinsic Value of Shares Exercise Price Life (Years) (in thousands) Stock Options/SOSARs Outstanding at January 1, 2015 4,786,305 $ 59.65 Granted 161,310 79.41 Exercised (1,890,028) 63.48 Forfeited or expired (4,838) 64.48 Outstanding at December 31, 2015 3,052,749 $ 58.32 4.36 $ 118,401 Vested and expected to vest 3,038,898 $ 58.27 4.35 $ 118,043 Exercisable at December 31, 2015 2,602,447 $ 56.65 3.70 $ 106,100
Aggregate Intrinsic Values of Options Exercised	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Aggregate intrinsic value of options/ SOSARs exercised $ 43,620 $ 7,372 $ 4,563
Cash and Stock Consideration Received and Tax Benefit Realized from Stock Option/Sosar Exercises and Compensation Cost Recorded	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Stock Options/SOSARs Cash and stock consideration received from exercises $ 72,884 $ 23,199 $ 17,156 Tax benefit from exercises 16,920 2,844 1,770 Compensation cost 2,221 4,650 3,936

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]
Commitments Due	Unconditional Purchase in thousands Obligations Property, Plant & Equipment 2016 $ 67,560 Thereafter 79,304 Total $ 146,864 Noncapital (primarily transportation and electricity contracts) 2016 $ 14,361 2017–2018 17,564 2019–2020 11,677 Thereafter 5,000 Total $ 48,602
Minimum Royalties Under Mineral Leases	Mineral in thousands Leases Minimum Royalties 2016 $ 21,479 2017–2018 37,710 2019–2020 25,380 Thereafter 132,811 Total $ 217,380

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Tab

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME [Abstract]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Net Of Tax	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 AOCI Cash flow hedges $ (14,494) $ (20,322) $ (25,178) Pension and postretirement plans (105,575) (141,392) (74,453) Total $ (120,069) $ (161,714) $ (99,631)
Changes In Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Pension and Cash Flow Postretirement in thousands Hedges Benefit Plans Total AOCI Balance as of December 31, 2012 $ (28,170) $ (197,347) $ (225,517) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 111,883 111,883 Amounts reclassified from AOCI 2,992 11,011 14,003 Net current year OCI changes 2,992 122,894 125,886 Balance as of December 31, 2013 $ (25,178) $ (74,453) $ (99,631) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 (69,051) (69,051) Amounts reclassified from AOCI 4,856 2,112 6,968 Net current year OCI changes 4,856 (66,939) (62,083) Balance as of December 31, 2014 $ (20,322) $ (141,392) $ (161,714) Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications 0 23,832 23,832 Amounts reclassified from AOCI 5,828 11,985 17,813 Net current year OCI changes 5,828 35,817 41,645 Balance as of December 31, 2015 $ (14,494) $ (105,575) $ (120,069)
Reclassification of Amounts from Other Comprehensive Income Loss to Earnings	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Reclassification Adjustment for Cash Flow Hedge Losses Interest expense $ 9,759 $ 7,988 $ 5,077 (Benefit from) provision for income taxes (3,931) (3,132) (2,085) Total 1 $ 5,828 $ 4,856 $ 2,992 Amortization of Pension and Postretirement Plan Actuarial Loss and Prior Service Cost Cost of revenues $ 15,916 $ 2,789 $ 14,516 Selling, administrative and general expenses 3,608 688 3,616 (Benefit from) provision for income taxes (7,539) (1,365) (7,121) Total 2 $ 11,985 $ 2,112 $ 11,011 Total reclassifications from AOCI to earnings $ 17,813 $ 6,968 $ 14,003 1 Totals for 2015 and 2014 include the acceleration of a proportional amount of deferred losses on interest rate derivatives (see Note 5) referable to debt purchases (see Note 6). 2 Total for 2015 includes a one-time settlement loss resulting from a lump sum payment to a former employee (see Note 10). Total for 2014 includes a one-time curtailment gain (see Note 10) resulting from the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19).

SEGMENT REPORTING (Tables)

SEGMENT REPORTING (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SEGMENT REPORTING [Abstract]
Segment Financial Disclosure	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Total Revenues Aggregates 1 $ 2,777,758 $ 2,346,411 $ 2,025,026 Asphalt Mix 2 530,692 445,538 407,657 Concrete 2, 3 299,252 375,806 471,748 Calcium 4 8,596 25,032 99,004 Segment sales $ 3,616,298 $ 3,192,787 $ 3,003,435 Aggregates intersegment sales (194,117) (189,393) (185,385) Calcium intersegment sales 0 (9,225) (47,341) Total revenues $ 3,422,181 $ 2,994,169 $ 2,770,709 Gross Profit Aggregates $ 755,666 $ 544,070 $ 413,301 Asphalt Mix 2 78,225 38,080 32,704 Concrete 2, 3 20,152 2,233 (24,774) Calcium 4 3,490 3,199 5,649 Total $ 857,533 $ 587,582 $ 426,880 Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization (DDA&A) Aggregates $ 228,466 $ 227,042 $ 224,808 Asphalt Mix 2 16,378 10,719 8,697 Concrete 2, 3 11,374 19,892 32,996 Calcium 4 679 1,554 18,093 Other 17,926 20,290 22,514 Total $ 274,823 $ 279,497 $ 307,108 Capital Expenditures 5 Aggregates $ 269,014 $ 180,026 $ 253,000 Asphalt Mix 2 8,111 20,796 17,089 Concrete 2, 3 19,053 19,542 13,054 Calcium 4 0 201 198 Corporate 7,846 2,532 1,277 Total $ 304,024 $ 223,097 $ 284,618 Identifiable Assets 6 Aggregates $ 7,540,273 $ 7,311,336 $ 7,006,724 Asphalt Mix 2 251,716 264,172 195,046 Concrete 2, 3 198,193 227,000 370,103 Calcium 4 5,509 5,818 413,296 Total identifiable assets 7,995,691 7,808,326 7,985,169 General corporate assets 21,881 91,498 54,207 Cash items 284,060 141,273 193,738 Total assets $ 8,301,632 $ 8,041,097 $ 8,233,114 1 Includes product sales, as well as freight, delivery and transportation revenues, and other revenues related to services. 2 In January 2015, we exchanged our California ready-mixed concrete operations for 13 asphalt mix plants, primarily in Arizona (see Note 19). 3 In March 2014, we sold our concrete business in the Florida area (see Note 19). 4 Includes cement and calcium products. In March 2014, we sold our cement business (see Note 19). 5 Capital expenditures include capitalized replacements of and additions to property, plant & equipment, including capitalized leases, renewals and betterments. Capital expenditures exclude property, plant & equipment obtained by business acquisitions. 6 Certain temporarily idled assets are included within a segment's Identifiable Assets but the associated DDA&A is shown within Other in the DDA&A section above as the related DDA&A is excluded from segment gross profit.

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORM43

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION [Abstract]
Supplemental Information Referable to Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 Cash Payments Interest (exclusive of amount capitalized) $ 208,288 $ 241,841 $ 196,794 Income taxes 53,623 79,862 30,938 Noncash Investing and Financing Activities Accrued liabilities for purchases of property, plant & equipment $ 31,883 $ 17,120 $ 18,864 Amounts referable to business acquisitions Liabilities assumed 2,645 26,622 232 Fair value of noncash assets and liabilities exchanged 20,000 2,414 0 Fair value of equity consideration 0 45,185 0

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (T

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS [Abstract]
Asset Retirement Obligations Operating Costs	in thousands 2015 2014 2013 ARO Operating Costs Accretion $ 11,474 $ 11,601 $ 10,685 Depreciation 6,515 4,462 3,527 Total $ 17,989 $ 16,063 $ 14,212
Reconciliations of Asset Retirement Obligations	in thousands 2015 2014 Asset Retirement Obligations Balance at beginning of year $ 226,565 $ 228,234 Liabilities incurred 6,235 9,130 Liabilities settled (18,048) (26,547) Accretion expense 11,474 11,601 Revisions, net 368 4,147 Balance at end of year $ 226,594 $ 226,565

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSTES

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSTES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS [Abstract]
Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill by Reportable Segment	in thousands Aggregates Asphalt Mix Concrete Calcium Total Goodwill Total as of December 31, 2012 $ 2,995,083 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,086,716 Goodwill of divested businesses 1 (5,195) 0 0 0 (5,195) Total as of December 31, 2013 $ 2,989,888 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,081,521 Goodwill of acquired businesses 1 13,303 0 0 0 13,303 Total as of December 31, 2014 $ 3,003,191 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,094,824 Total as of December 31, 2015 $ 3,003,191 $ 91,633 $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,094,824 1 Refer to Note 19 for additional details.
Gross Carrying Amount and Accumulated Amortization by Major Intangible Asset Class	in thousands 2015 2014 Gross Carrying Amount Contractual rights in place $ 735,935 $ 719,100 Noncompetition agreements 2,800 2,550 Favorable lease agreements 16,677 16,677 Permitting, permitting compliance and zoning rights 99,513 93,273 Other 1 4,092 4,067 Total gross carrying amount $ 859,017 $ 835,667 Accumulated Amortization Contractual rights in place $ (65,641) $ (54,019) Noncompetition agreements (506) (119) Favorable lease agreements (4,002) (3,489) Permitting, permitting compliance and zoning rights (20,350) (18,270) Other 1 (1,939) (1,527) Total accumulated amortization $ (92,438) $ (77,424) Total Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization, net $ 766,579 $ 758,243 Intangible Assets with Indefinite Lives 0 0 Total Intangible Assets, net $ 766,579 $ 758,243 Amortization Expense for the Year $ 15,618 $ 10,966 1 Includes customer relationships and tradenames and trademarks.
Estimated Amortization Expense	in thousands Estimated Amortization Expense for Five Subsequent Years 2016 $ 19,946 2017 20,797 2018 21,702 2019 19,746 2020 20,247

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES [Abstract]
Total Revenues, Net Earnings and Acquisition Costs	in thousands 2015 Actual Results Total revenues $ 67,002 Net earnings 1,938
Schedule Of Business Acquisitions	in thousands 2015 Fair Value of Purchase Consideration Cash $ 27,198 Exchanges of real property and businesses 20,000 Total fair value of purchase consideration $ 47,198 Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed Accounts and notes receivable, net $ 2,105 Inventories 3,559 Other current assets 358 Property, plant & equipment, net 26,087 Other intangible assets Contractual rights in place 17,484 Noncompetition agreement 250 Liabilities assumed (2,645) Net identifiable assets acquired $ 47,198 Goodwill $ 0
Classification of Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale	in thousands 2015 2014 Held for Sale Current assets $ 0 $ 1,773 Property, plant & equipment, net 0 12,764 Other intangible assets, net 0 647 Total assets held for sale $ 0 $ 15,184 Asset retirement obligations $ 0 $ 520 Total liabilities of assets held for sale $ 0 $ 520

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (T

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015
UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA [Abstract]
Summary of Selected Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited)	2015 Three Months Ended in thousands, except per share data March 31 June 30 Sept 30 Dec 31 Total revenues $ 631,293 $ 895,143 $ 1,038,460 $ 857,285 Gross profit 77,865 234,449 291,290 253,929 Operating earnings 10,759 153,776 212,206 173,037 Earnings (loss) from continuing operations (36,667) 49,819 126,202 93,560 Net earnings (loss) (39,678) 48,162 123,805 88,888 Basic earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.28) $ 0.37 $ 0.95 $ 0.70 Diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.28) $ 0.37 $ 0.93 $ 0.69 Basic net earnings (loss) per share $ (0.30) $ 0.36 $ 0.93 $ 0.67 Diluted net earnings (loss) per share $ (0.30) $ 0.36 $ 0.91 $ 0.65 2014 Three Months Ended in thousands, except per share data March 31 June 30 Sept 30 Dec 31 Total revenues $ 574,420 $ 791,143 $ 873,579 $ 755,027 Gross profit 34,092 174,788 209,042 169,660 Operating earnings 1 194,669 103,246 140,331 99,892 Earnings from continuing operations 1 54,505 46,511 67,781 38,349 Net earnings 1 53,995 45,967 66,939 38,022 Basic earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.42 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Basic net earnings per share $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Diluted net earnings per share $ 0.41 $ 0.35 $ 0.50 $ 0.28 1 Includes a $227,910 thousand pretax gain on the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area as described in Note 19, primarily recorded in the first quarter.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN48

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)stateitemsegmentfactor	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of states | state	20
Number of demographic factors | factor	3
Restructuring charges	$ 4,988	$ 1,308	$ 1,509
Bad debt expense	1,450	2,031	602
Write-offs of accounts receivables	1,483	2,561	1,946
Capitalized software costs	7,003	8,753
Capitalized software costs during the year	$ 1,482	921	1,695
Number of Rabbi Trusts established | item	2
Net gains of the Rabbi Trust investments	$ (1,517)	1,169	4,398
Unrealized net gains (losses) of the Rabbi Trust investments	(1,769)	(1,049)	4,234
Losses on impairment of long-lived assets	5,190	3,095	0
Assets subject to fair value measurement on a nonrecurring basis	0	2,172
Goodwill	$ 3,094,824	$ 3,094,824	3,081,521	$ 3,086,716
Percentage of goodwill in total assets	37.00%	38.00%
Number of operating segments | segment	4
Number of reporting units | item	18
Percentage of net property, plant & equipment in total assets	38.00%
Percentage of net other intangible assets in total assets	9.00%
Number of Facilities | item	8
Proceeds from sale of future production			153,282	$ 73,644
Amortization term of proceeds from sale of future production	25 years
Stripping costs	$ 50,409	$ 44,896	41,716
Capitalized pre-production stripping costs	61,369	44,035
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation	18,376	3,464	161
Carrying value of reclamation obligations	226,594	226,565	$ 228,234
Spread between the amount accrued and the maximum environmental loss	3,154
Maximum self-insurance coverage per occurrence for losses related to workers' compensation	2,000
Maximum self-insurance coverage per occurrence for automotive and general/product liability	$ 3,000
Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 - Income Taxes recognition threshold for uncertain tax positions	50.00%
LIFO method used for percentage of inventory	67.00%
Debt Issuance Cost		$ 20,805
Goodwill [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of reporting units | item	9
Minimum [Member] | Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	3 years
Minimum [Member] | Buildings [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	7 years
Minimum [Member] | Land Improvements [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	8 years
Maximum [Member] | Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	25 years
Maximum [Member] | Buildings [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	20 years
Maximum [Member] | Land Improvements [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated service lives	20 years
Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated deferred revenue to be recognized in the next 12 months					$ 6,400

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN49

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and Amortization Expense) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Depreciation	$ 228,866	$ 239,611	$ 271,180
Depletion	18,177	16,741	13,028
Accretion	11,474	11,601	10,685
Amortization of leaseholds	688	578	483
Amortization of intangible	15,618	10,966	11,732
Total	$ 274,823	$ 279,497	$ 307,108

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN50

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Fair Value Measurement on Recurring Basis) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets fair value, recurring	$ 20,464	$ 26,780
Level 1 [Member] | Mutual Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets fair value, recurring	11,472	15,532
Level 1 [Member] | Equities [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets fair value, recurring	8,992	11,248
Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets fair value, recurring	2,124	1,415
Level 2 [Member] | Common/Collective Trust Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets fair value, recurring	$ 2,124	$ 1,415

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN51

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Fair Value Measurement on Nonrecurring Basis) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Totals	$ 0	$ 2,172
Property, plant & equipment, Impairment Charges	2,176	3,095
Other intangible assets, net, Impairment Charges	2,858	0
Other assets, Impairment Charges	156	0
Totals, Impairment Charges	5,190	3,095	$ 0
Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment	0	2,172
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Other assets	0	0
Totals	$ 0	$ 2,172

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN52

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Reconciliation of Deferred Revenue Balances) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Balance at beginning of year	$ 219,968	$ 224,743	$ 73,583
Cash received and revenue deferred	0	187	153,156
Amortization of deferred revenue	(5,908)	(4,962)	(1,996)
Balance at end of year	$ 214,060	$ 219,968	$ 224,743

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN53

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Unrecognized Compensation Expense) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Total/weighted-average	$ 27,153
Expected Weighted-Average Recognition (Years)	2 years 3 months 18 days
Employee Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
SOSARs	$ 4,882	[1]
Expected Weighted-Average Recognition (Years)	1 year 7 months 6 days	[1]
Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance and restricted shares	$ 22,271
Expected Weighted-Average Recognition (Years)	2 years 6 months
[1]	Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights (SOSARs)

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN54

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Pretax Compensation Expense) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Pretax compensation expense	$ 16,362	$ 22,217	$ 20,187
Income tax benefits	$ 6,347	$ 8,571	$ 7,833

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN55

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Liabilities Under Self-Insurance Program) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Self-insured liabilities (undiscounted)	$ 44,618	$ 43,731
Insured liabilities (undiscounted)	$ 16,787	$ 17,758
Discount Rate	1.44%	1.29%
Investments and long-term receivables	$ 15,810	$ 16,884
Other accrued liabilities	(14,198)	(13,131)
Other noncurrent liabilities	(44,102)	(45,569)
Net liabilities (discounted)	$ (42,490)	$ (41,816)

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN56

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Estimated Payments (Undiscounted) Under Self-Insurance Program) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
2,016	$ 19,001
2,017	10,900
2,018	7,743
2,019	5,063
2,020	$ 3,609

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN57

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding) (Details) - shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	133,210	131,461	130,272
Stock options/SOSARs	1,027	656	461
Other stock compensation plans	856	874	734
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution	135,093	132,991	131,467

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN58

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Antidilutive Common Stock Equivalents) (Details) - shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Antidilutive common stock equivalents	544	2,352	2,895

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Narrat

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2005agreement
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Number of earn-out agreements | agreement				2
Final payment received under the 5CP earn-out			$ 13,031
Payments for the transaction bonus			1,303
Pretax losses from discontinued operations	$ 19,326	$ 3,683	$ 5,744

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Result

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Results from Discontinued Operations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Pretax loss	$ (19,326)	$ (3,683)	$ (5,744)
Gain on disposal, net of transaction bonus	0	0	11,728
Income tax (provision) benefit	7,589	1,460	(2,358)
Earnings (loss) on discontinued operations, net of income taxes	$ (11,737)	$ (2,223)	$ 3,626

INVENTORIES (Narrative) (Detail

INVENTORIES (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INVENTORIES [Abstract]
Inventory classified as long-term assets (other noncurrent assets)	$ 14,995	$ 17,449
Inventories valued under the LIFO method	242,147	232,371
Decrease in cost of revenues due to the effect of the LIFO liquidation	3,284	2,686	$ 1,310
Increase in net earnings due to the effect of the LIFO liquidation	2,010	1,650	802
Excess of estimated current cost over LIFO cost	169,257	181,633
Approximate effect on net earnings due to the adoption of the LIFO method	$ (7,614)	$ 19,108	$ 20,812

INVENTORIES (Inventories) (Deta

INVENTORIES (Inventories) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
INVENTORIES [Abstract]
Finished products	[1]	$ 297,925	$ 275,172
Raw materials		21,765	19,741
Products in process		1,008	1,250
Operating supplies and other		26,375	25,641
Inventories		347,073	321,804
Encumbered inventories		$ 4,452	$ 4,792
[1]	Includes inventories encumbered by the purchaser's percentage of volumetric production payments (see Note 1, Deferred Revenue), as follows: December 31, 2015 - $4,452 thousand and December 31, 2014 - $4,792 thousand.

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Pr

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Property, Plant and Equipment) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		$ 6,891,287	$ 6,608,842
Less allowances for depreciation, depletion and amortization		3,734,997	3,537,212
Property, plant & equipment, net		3,156,290	3,071,630
Land and Land Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross	[1]	2,305,801	2,273,874
Buildings [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		124,950	126,833
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		4,124,808	3,952,423
Leaseholds [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		14,143	13,451
Deferred Asset Retirement Costs [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		166,252	163,644
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		155,333	78,617
Depletable Land [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant & equipment, gross		$ 1,296,211	$ 1,287,225
[1]	Includes depletable land, as follows: December 31, 2015 - $1,296,211 thousand and December 31, 2014 - $1,287,225 thousand.

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Ca

PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT (Capitalized Interest Costs and Total Interest Costs Incurred) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
PROPERTY, PLANT & EQUIPMENT [Abstract]
Capitalized interest cost	$ 2,930	$ 2,092	$ 1,089
Total interest cost incurred before recognition of the capitalized amount	$ 223,518	$ 245,459	$ 203,677

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Narrati

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Narrative) (Details)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2011USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007USD ($)agreement	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Jun. 30, 2011USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Number of forward starting interest rate swap agreements | agreement					15
Cash (payments for) proceeds from interest rate swap agreements	$ 25,382,000				$ (89,777,000)
Fixed-rate notes issued		$ 2,004,198,000	$ 2,004,459,000						$ 500,000,000
Gain component of the settlement	23,387,000
Accrued interest	$ 1,995,000
Amortized deferred gain		3,036,000	10,674,000	$ 4,334,000
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Loss reclassified from AOCI		$ 7,208,000	$ 3,762,000
6.50% notes due 2016 [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate		6.50%	6.50%				6.50%	6.50%	6.50%
10.125% notes due 2015 [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate		10.125%	10.125%
Interest Rate Swap Agreements [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional amount of interest rate swap agreements					$ 1,500,000,000
Interest Rate Swap Agreement One [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional amount of interest rate swap agreements									$ 500,000,000
Interest rate spread above London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)									4.05%
Fixed interest rate under swap agreements									6.50%
Interest Rate Swap Agreement Two [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional amount of interest rate swap agreements									$ 150,000,000
Interest rate spread above London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)									8.03%
Fixed interest rate under swap agreements									10.125%
Interest Rate Swap Agreement Two [Member] | 10.125% notes due 2015 [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Interest rate									10.125%
Debt [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Amortized deferred gain		$ 1,642,000	$ 8,032,000
Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Estimated amount of pretax loss in AOCI reclassified to earnings for the next 12-month period						$ 2,008,000

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Effects

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Effects of Changes in Fair Values of Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Interest Rate Swap [Member] | Cash Flow Hedges [Member] | Interest Expense [Member]
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Loss reclassified from AOCI (effective portion)	$ (9,759)	$ (7,988)	$ (5,077)

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Deferre

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Deferred Gain Amortization) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS [Abstract]
Amortized to earnings as a reduction to interest expense	$ 3,036	$ 10,674	$ 4,334

DEBT (Narrative) (Details)

DEBT (Narrative) (Details)		1 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
		Oct. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Transaction fees								$ 7,382,000	$ 0	$ 0
Long term debt	[1]							1,980,464,000	1,984,779,000
Debt issued, amount								2,004,198,000	2,004,459,000				$ 500,000,000
Debt issued, net proceeds				$ 395,207,000
Debt purchased, amount					$ 506,366,000	$ 471,122,000
Total consideration paid for debt			$ 385,024,000		579,659,000			695,060,000	579,829,000	150,602,000
Premium paid for purchase of debt			41,153,000		71,829,000
Transaction cost related to termination of debt			52,000		1,464,000
Other cost (benefit) related to debt purchase			$ 4,136,000		$ (344,000)
Cost of debt purchase						45,341,000		67,075,000	72,949,000	$ 0
10.125% notes due 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 0	$ 150,000,000		$ 150,000,000
Interest rate								10.125%	10.125%
Maturity year								2,015
4.50% notes due 2025 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 400,000,000	$ 0
Debt issued, amount				$ 400,000,000			$ 400,000,000
Interest rate				4.50%			4.50%	4.50%
Maturity year								2,025
7.00% notes due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 272,512,000	400,000,000
Interest rate			7.00%	7.00%			7.00%	7.00%
Maturity year								2,018
Debt purchased, amount			$ 185,000	$ 127,303,000			$ 127,303,000
Principal amount, percentage			1.00%	32.00%
Total consideration paid for debt				$ 145,899,000
Premium paid for purchase of debt				18,140,000			18,140,000
Transaction cost related to termination of debt				456,000
Other cost (benefit) related to debt purchase				$ 3,138,000
Cost of debt purchase							$ 21,734,000
6.40% notes due 2017 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 0	$ 218,633,000
Interest rate			6.40%		6.40%			6.40%	6.40%
Maturity year								2,017
Debt purchased, amount			$ 218,633,000		$ 131,367,000
Principal amount, percentage			100.00%
6.50% notes due 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 0	$ 125,001,000
Interest rate			6.50%		6.50%			6.50%	6.50%				6.50%
Maturity year								2,016
Debt purchased, amount			$ 125,001,000		$ 374,999,000
Principal amount, percentage			100.00%
Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity						$ 500,000,000		$ 750,000,000
Transaction fees								$ 2,589,000
Line of credit, expiration date								Jun. 1, 2020
Debt to EBITDA ratio								3.5
EBITDA to net cash interest expense ratio								3
Commitment fee								0.25%
Available borrowing capacity								$ 476,136,000
Long term debt								$ 235,000,000
Bank Line of Credit [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt to EBITDA ratio		3.25
Bank Line of Credit [Member] | LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								1.75%
Bank Line of Credit [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								0.75%
Standby Letters of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Other liabilities								$ 38,864,000
Initial term of letters of credit								1 year
Standby Letters of Credit [Member] | LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								0.175%
Minimum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee								0.10%
Minimum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member] | LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								1.00%
Minimum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								0.00%
Maximum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee								0.35%
Maximum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member] | LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								2.00%
Maximum [Member] | Bank Line of Credit [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Applicable margin on borrowing rate								1.00%
Other Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt	[2]							$ 498,000	$ 637,000
Industrial Revenue Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long term debt								$ 0	$ 14,000,000			$ 14,000,000
Maturity year								2,022
[1]	The debt balances as of December 31, 2014 have been adjusted to reflect our early adoption of ASU 2015-03 and related election as discussed in Note 1 under the caption New Accounting Standards.
[2]	Non-publicly traded debt.

DEBT (Summary of Debt) (Details

DEBT (Summary of Debt) (Details) - USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2015	Nov. 30, 2015	Jul. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total short-term debt		$ 0			$ 0
Total long-term debt including current maturities	[1]	1,980,464,000			1,984,779,000
Unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs		(23,734,000)			(22,716,000)
Less current maturities		130,000			150,137,000
Total long-term debt		1,980,334,000			1,834,642,000
Total debt	[2]	1,980,464,000			1,984,779,000
Estimated fair value of long-term debt		2,204,816,000			2,092,673,000
10.125% notes due 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		0	$ 150,000,000		150,000,000
6.50% notes due 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		0			125,001,000
6.40% notes due 2017 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		0			218,633,000
7.00% notes due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		272,512,000			400,000,000
10.375% notes due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		250,000,000			250,000,000
7.50% notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		600,000,000			600,000,000
8.85% notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		6,000,000			6,000,000
4.50% notes due 2025 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		400,000,000			0
7.15% notes due 2037 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		240,188,000			240,188,000
10.125% notes due 2015 and 6.50% notes due 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain	[3]	0			3,036,000
Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total short-term debt	[4],[5],[6]	0			0
Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities	[4],[5],[6]	235,000,000			0
Industrial Revenue Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities		0		$ 14,000,000	14,000,000
Other Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities	[5]	$ 498,000			$ 637,000
[1]	The debt balances as of December 31, 2014 have been adjusted to reflect our early adoption of ASU 2015-03 and related election as discussed in Note 1 under the caption New Accounting Standards.
[2]	Face value of our debt is equal to total debt plus unamortized discounts and debt issuance costs, and unamortized deferred interest rate swap gain, as follows: December 31, 2015 - $2,004,198 thousand and December 31, 2014 - $2,004,459 thousand.
[3]	The unamortized deferred gain was realized upon the August 2011 settlement of interest rate swaps as discussed in Note 5.
[4]	Borrowings on the bank line of credit are classified as short-term debt if we intend to repay within twelve months and as long-term debt otherwise.
[5]	Non-publicly traded debt.
[6]	The effective interest rate is the spread over LIBOR as of the balance sheet dates.

DEBT (Summary of Debt Additiona

DEBT (Summary of Debt Additional Information) (Details) - USD ($)		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015	Apr. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Jun. 30, 2011
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument face amount		$ 2,004,198,000			$ 2,004,459,000		$ 500,000,000
10.125% notes due 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		10.125%			10.125%
Maturity year		2,015
6.50% notes due 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		6.50%	6.50%		6.50%	6.50%	6.50%
Maturity year		2,016
6.40% notes due 2017 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		6.40%	6.40%		6.40%	6.40%
Maturity year		2,017
7.00% notes due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		7.00%	7.00%	7.00%
Maturity year		2,018
Effective interest rate		7.87%
10.375% notes due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		10.375%			10.375%
Maturity year		2,018
Effective interest rate		10.63%
7.50% notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		7.50%			7.50%
Maturity year		2,021
Effective interest rate		7.75%
8.85% notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		8.85%			8.85%
Maturity year		2,021
Effective interest rate		8.88%
4.50% notes due 2025 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		4.50%		4.50%
Maturity year		2,025
Debt instrument face amount				$ 400,000,000
Effective interest rate		4.65%
7.15% notes due 2037 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate		7.15%			7.15%
Maturity year		2,037
Effective interest rate		8.05%
Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, expiration date		Jun. 1, 2020
Bank Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, expiration date		Jun. 1, 2020
Effective interest rate	[1],[2],[3]	1.75%
Industrial Revenue Bonds [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maturity year		2,022
Other Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate	[2]	6.25%
[1]	Borrowings on the bank line of credit are classified as short-term debt if we intend to repay within twelve months and as long-term debt otherwise.
[2]	Non-publicly traded debt.
[3]	The effective interest rate is the spread over LIBOR as of the balance sheet dates.

DEBT (Schedule of Principal and

DEBT (Schedule of Principal and Interest Debt Payments) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
DEBT [Abstract]
2016, Total	$ 125,878
2017, Total	125,878
2018, Total	638,728
2019, Total	80,740
2020, Total	80,740
2016, Principal	130
2017, Principal	138
2018, Principal	522,534
2019, Principal	23
2020, Principal	25
2016, Interest	125,748
2017, Interest	125,740
2018, Interest	116,194
2019, Interest	80,717
2020, Interest	$ 80,715

DEBT (Summary of Standby Letter

DEBT (Summary of Standby Letters Of Credit) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Risk management insurance	$ 44,618	$ 43,731
Reclamation/restoration requirements	226,594	$ 226,565	$ 228,234
Standby Letters of Credit [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Risk management insurance	33,111
Reclamation/restoration requirements	5,753
Total	$ 38,864

OPERATING LEASES (Rental Expens

OPERATING LEASES (Rental Expense From Continuing Operations Under Nomineral Operating Leases) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
OPERATING LEASES [Abstract]
Minimum rentals	$ 49,461	$ 42,887	$ 40,151
Contingent rentals (based principally on usage)	60,380	56,717	44,111
Total	$ 109,841	$ 99,604	$ 84,262

OPERATING LEASES (Future Minimu

OPERATING LEASES (Future Minimum Operating Lease Payments) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
OPERATING LEASES [Abstract]
2,016	$ 30,945
2,017	29,712
2,018	26,543
2,019	22,455
2,020	20,508
Thereafter	128,657
Total	$ 258,820

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIA75

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS [Abstract]
Long-term portion of accrued environmental remediation costs	$ 12,569	$ 6,736

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIA76

ACCRUED ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS (Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs	$ 17,864	$ 9,048
Continuing Operations [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs	6,876	4,919
Discontinued Operations [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued Environmental Remediation Costs	$ 10,988	$ 4,129

INCOME TAXES (Narrative) (Detai

INCOME TAXES (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
State net operating loss carryforwards, Deferred Tax Asset	$ 61,658	$ 59,315
Decrease in valuation allowance	4,655
Income tax receivables	4,138	1,040
Interest and penalties recognized as income tax expense	138	(1,067)	$ (788)
Balance of accrued interest and penalties included in lliability for unrecognized income tax benefits	1,103	965	2,032
Unrecognized income tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate if recognized	7,614	$ 6,282	$ 7,910
Undistributed earnings from foreign subsidiaries	75,938
Deferred income tax liability not recognized from undistributed foreign earnings	26,578
Alabama [Member]
State net operating loss carryforwards, Deferred Tax Asset	$ 58,921

INCOME TAXES (Components Of Ear

INCOME TAXES (Components Of Earnings (Loss) From Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Domestic	$ 293,547	$ 264,473	$ (34,239)
Foreign	34,310	34,365	30,536
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	$ 327,857	$ 298,838	$ (3,703)

INCOME TAXES (Provision (Benefi

INCOME TAXES (Provision (Benefit) For Income Taxes from Continuing Operations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Current, Federal	$ 67,521	$ 47,882	$ (3,691)
Current, State and local	14,035	18,983	7,941
Current, Foreign	7,784	7,174	5,423
Current, Total	89,340	74,039	9,673
Deferred, Federal	11,192	13,556	(20,581)
Deferred, State and local	(4,888)	4,120	(13,542)
Deferred, Foreign	(701)	(23)	(9)
Deferred, Total	5,603	17,653	(34,132)
Total provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$ 94,943	$ 91,692	$ (24,459)

INCOME TAXES (Sources and Tax E

INCOME TAXES (Sources and Tax Effects of Differences Between Benefit from Income Taxes and Amount Computed by Applying Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate to Losses from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Income tax provision (benefit) at the federal statutory tax rate of 35%	$ 114,750	$ 104,594	$ (1,296)
Statutory depletion	(27,702)	(25,774)	(20,875)
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit	5,945	15,017	(3,641)
U.S. production deduction	(5,099)	0	0
Foreign tax credit carryforwards impairment	6,486	0	0
Permanently reinvested foreign earnings	(6,396)	0	0
Other, net	6,959	(2,145)	1,353
Total provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$ 94,943	$ 91,692	$ (24,459)
Income tax benefit at the federal statutory tax rate of 35%, Rate	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Statutory depletion, Rate	(8.40%)	(8.60%)	563.70%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit, Rate	1.80%	5.00%	98.30%
U.S. production deduction, Rate	(1.60%)	0.00%	0.00%
Foreign tax credit carryforwards impairment, Rate	2.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Permanently reinvested foreign earnings, Rate	(2.00%)	0.00%	0.00%
Other, net, Rate	2.20%	(0.70%)	(36.50%)
Total Effective tax rate	29.00%	30.70%	660.50%

INCOME TAXES (Components of Net

INCOME TAXES (Components of Net Deferred Income Tax Liability) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Employee benefits	$ 78,999	$ 97,757
Asset retirement obligations & other reserves	59,507	53,670
Deferred compensation	117,298	121,900
State net operating losses	61,658	59,315
Federal credit carryforwards	34,340	40,212
Other	48,856	52,241
Total gross deferred tax assets	400,658	425,095
Valuation allowance	(59,323)	(56,867)
Total net deferred tax assets	341,335	368,228
Property, plant and equipment	665,057	661,697
Goodwill/other intangible assets	324,910	329,539
Other	32,464	28,403
Total deferred tax liabilities	1,022,431	1,019,639
Net deferred tax liability	681,096	$ 651,411
Deferred income taxes noncurrent	$ 44,464

INCOME TAXES (Net Deferred Tax

INCOME TAXES (Net Deferred Tax Liability) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Current assets	[1]	$ 0	$ (39,726)
Noncurrent liabilities		681,096	691,137
Net deferred tax liability		$ 681,096	$ 651,411
[1]	As discussed in Note 1, we early adopted ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis as of December 31, 2015. Thus, all deferred income taxes as of December 31, 2015 are classified as noncurrent resulting in a $44,464 thousand decrease in current assets with a corresponding decrease in noncurrent liabilities.

INCOME TAXES (Changes in Unreco

INCOME TAXES (Changes in Unrecognized Income Tax Benefits) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]
Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1	$ 7,057	$ 12,155	$ 13,550
Increases for tax positions related to Prior years	491	229	28
Increases for tax positions related to Current year	942	528	845
Decreases for tax positions related to Prior years	0	(53)	(86)
Settlements with taxing authorities	0	0	(136)
Expiration of applicable statute of limitations	(43)	(5,802)	(2,046)
Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31	$ 8,447	$ 7,057	$ 12,155

BENEFIT PLANS (Narrative) (Deta

BENEFIT PLANS (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)employeeShareBasedCompensationPlanitem	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)item	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number Of Defined Contribution Plans | ShareBasedCompensationPlan			2
Projected benefit obligation			$ 988,453	$ 1,083,222	$ 911,700
Employer contributions			14,047	5,488	4,855
Contributions to multiemployer pension plans			9,800	$ 8,503	$ 7,580
Estimated employer contribution in 2016			$ 9,107
Percentage of contributions to individual multiemployer pension funds			5.00%	5.00%	5.00%
Percentage of domestic hourly labor force covered by collective bargaining agreements			14.00%
Percentage of domestic hourly labor force covered by collective bargaining agreements expiring in 2016			40.00%
Number of unfunded supplemental retirement plans | item			1	1
Accrued costs for supplemental retirement plan			$ 1,384	$ 1,421
Expense recognized related to defined contribution plans			$ 36,085	29,215	$ 21,416
Mexico [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of employees | employee			315
Equities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, minimum			50.00%
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, maximum			77.00%
Debt Securities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, minimum			15.00%
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, maximum			27.00%
Specialty Investments [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, minimum			0.00%
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, maximum			20.00%
Commodities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, minimum			0.00%
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, maximum			6.00%
Cash Reserves [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, minimum			0.00%
Target allocation ranges for plan assets, maximum			5.00%
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of funded, noncontributory defined benefit pension plans | ShareBasedCompensationPlan			3
Normal retirement age			65 years
Pension expense					(7,600)
One-time curtailment gain			$ 0	0	$ (855)
Accumulated benefit obligation			$ 987,724	$ 1,061,816
Expected return on plan assets			7.50%	7.50%	7.50%
Employer contributions			$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Discount rate			4.54%	4.14%	4.91%
Defined Benefit Plan, Assumptions Used Calculating Benefit Obligation, Rate of Compensation Increase			3.50%	3.70%	3.50%
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated net actuarial loss expected to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income		$ 6,067
Estimated prior service cost that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income		$ (43)
Estimated weighted-average discount rate to measure service cost		4.89%
Estimated weighted-average discount rate to measure interest cost		3.80%
Estimated weighted-average discount rate for service and interest costs		4.54%
Estimated reduction in benefit cost		$ 7,200
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Discontinued Operations [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Pension expense					$ (800)
Non Qualified Pension Plans [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of unfunded, nonqualified pension plans | ShareBasedCompensationPlan			3
Projected benefit obligation			$ 89,652	$ 101,230
Accumulated benefit obligation			89,652	95,154
Employer contributions			$ 14,047	5,488	4,855
Non Qualified Pension Plans [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated employer contribution in 2016		9,107
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Normal retirement age			65 years
Reduction in the projected benefit obligation			$ 0	2,639
One-time curtailment gain	$ 3,832		0	3,832	0
Projected benefit obligation			48,605	$ 85,336	$ 92,888
Estimated employer contribution in 2016			$ 6,287
Discount rate			3.69%	3.50%	4.10%
Healthcare cost trend rate assumed for next year				7.50%	7.50%
Rate to which the cost trend rate gradually declines				5.00%	5.00%
Year that the rate reaches the rate it is assumed to maintain				2,025	2,019
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated net actuarial loss expected to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income		(1,828)
Estimated prior service cost that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income		$ (4,236)
Estimated weighted-average discount rate to measure service cost		4.05%
Estimated weighted-average discount rate to measure interest cost		2.81%
Estimated weighted-average discount rate for service and interest costs		3.69%
Estimated reduction in benefit cost		$ 530
Minimum [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Discount rate			3.53%	3.50%
Maximum [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Discount rate			4.68%	4.30%

BENEFIT PLANS (Reconciliation o

BENEFIT PLANS (Reconciliation of Fair Value Measurements of Pension Plan Assets Using Significant Unobservable Inputs ( Level 3)) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
BENEFIT PLANS [Abstract]
Fair value of assets at beginning of year		$ 109,933	$ 88,482
Total gains (losses) for the period	[1]	5,186	34,071
Purchases, sales and settlements, net		(12,247)	(12,940)
Transfers into (out of) of Level 3		0	320
Fair value of assets at end of year		102,872	109,933
Unrealized gains related to assets still held		$ 47	$ 29,329
[1]	The total gains (losses) for 2015 and 2014 include $47 thousand and $29,329 thousand, respectively, in unrealized gains related to assets still held as of their respective year ends.

BENEFIT PLANS (Components of Ne

BENEFIT PLANS (Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost, Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income, Weighted-Average Assumptions) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Service cost		$ 4,851	$ 4,157
Interest cost		44,065	44,392
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Service cost		4,851	4,157	$ 21,904
Interest cost		44,065	44,392	40,995
Expected return on plan assets		(54,736)	(50,802)	(47,425)
Settlement charge		2,031	0	0
Curtailment gain (loss)		0	0	855
Amortization of prior service cost		48	188	339
Amortization of actuarial loss		21,641	11,221	20,429
Net periodic pension/postretirement benefit cost		17,900	9,156	37,097
Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial loss (gain)		(3,615)	118,915	(163,205)
Prior service cost (credit)		0	0	(583)
Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic postretirement benefit cost		(23,672)	(11,221)	(20,429)
Reclassification of prior service cost to net periodic pension benefit cost		(48)	(188)	(1,194)
Amount recognized in other comprehensive income		(27,335)	107,506	(185,411)
Amount recognized in net periodic pension benefit cost and other comprehensive income		$ (9,435)	$ 116,662	$ (148,314)
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31
Discount rate		4.14%	4.91%	4.33%
Expected return on plan assets		7.50%	7.50%	7.50%
Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans)		3.70%	3.50%	3.50%
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31
Discount rate		4.54%	4.14%	4.91%
Rate of compensation increase (for salary-related plans)		3.50%	3.70%	3.50%
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Service cost		$ 1,894	$ 2,146	$ 2,830
Interest cost		2,485	3,297	3,260
Curtailment gain (loss)	$ (3,832)	0	(3,832)	0
Amortization of prior service cost		(4,232)	(4,327)	(4,863)
Amortization of actuarial loss		37	227	1,372
Net periodic pension/postretirement benefit cost		184	(2,489)	2,599
Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial loss (gain)		(35,209)	(5,256)	(20,444)
Reclassification of actuarial loss to net periodic postretirement benefit cost		(37)	(227)	(1,372)
Reclassification of prior service cost to net periodic pension benefit cost		4,232	8,159	4,863
Amount recognized in other comprehensive income		(31,014)	2,676	(16,953)
Amount recognized in net periodic pension benefit cost and other comprehensive income		$ (30,830)	$ 187	$ (14,354)
Defined Benefit Plan, Assumed Health Care Cost Trend Rates [Abstract]
Healthcare cost trend rate assumed for next year			7.50%	7.50%
Rate to which the cost trend rate gradually declines			5.00%	5.00%
Year that the rate reaches the rate it is assumed to maintain			2,025	2,019
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31
Discount rate		3.50%	4.10%	3.30%
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligation at December 31
Discount rate		3.69%	3.50%	4.10%

BENEFIT PLANS (Fair values of P

BENEFIT PLANS (Fair values of Pension Plan Assets) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		$ 745,686	$ 816,972	$ 756,624
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		745,686	816,972
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Debt Securities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		154,745	164,695
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Commodity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		14,490	19,480
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		464,063	507,369
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Short Term Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		9,516	15,495
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Venture Capital And Partnerships [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets		102,872	109,933
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	647	457
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Debt Securities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Commodity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	647	457
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Short Term Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 1 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Venture Capital And Partnerships [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	642,167	706,582
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Debt Securities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	154,745	164,695
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Commodity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	14,490	19,480
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	463,416	506,912
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Short Term Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	9,516	15,495
Level 2 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Venture Capital And Partnerships [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	102,872	109,933
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Debt Securities [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Commodity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Short Term Funds [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member] | Venture Capital And Partnerships [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total pension plan assets	[1]	$ 102,872	$ 109,933
[1]	See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy.

BENEFIT PLANS (Combined Funded

BENEFIT PLANS (Combined Funded Status of Plans and their Reconciliation with Related Amounts Recognized in Consolidated Financial Statements) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Change in Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$ 1,083,222	$ 911,700
Service cost	4,851	4,157
Interest cost	44,065	44,392
Actuarial (gain) loss	(63,725)	167,041
Benefits paid	(79,960)	(44,068)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	988,453	1,083,222	$ 911,700
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of assets at beginning of year	816,972	756,624
Actual return on plan assets	(5,373)	98,928
Employer contributions	14,047	5,488	4,855
Benefits paid	(79,960)	(44,068)
Fair value of assets at end of year	745,686	816,972	756,624
Funded status	(242,767)	(266,250)
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Noncurrent assets	0	0
Current liabilities	(9,106)	(13,719)
Noncurrent liabilities	(233,661)	(252,531)
Net amount recognized	(242,767)	(266,250)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial (gain) loss	222,580	249,867
Prior service credit	(404)	(356)
Total amount recognized	222,176	249,511
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Change in Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	85,336	92,888
Service cost	1,894	2,146	2,830
Interest cost	2,485	3,297	3,260
Liability reduction from curtailment	0	(2,639)
Actuarial (gain) loss	(35,195)	(2,617)
Benefits paid	(5,915)	(7,739)	(6,258)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	48,605	85,336	92,888
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of assets at beginning of year	0	0
Actual return on plan assets	0	0
Benefits paid	(5,915)	(7,739)	(6,258)
Fair value of assets at end of year	0	0	$ 0
Funded status	(48,605)	(85,336)
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Current liabilities	(6,287)	(8,964)
Noncurrent liabilities	(42,318)	(76,372)
Net amount recognized	(48,605)	(85,336)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial (gain) loss	(24,325)	10,921
Prior service credit	(23,928)	(28,160)
Total amount recognized	$ (48,253)	$ (17,239)

BENEFIT PLANS (Employer Contrib

BENEFIT PLANS (Employer Contributions for Plan) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Employer contributions	$ 14,047	$ 5,488	$ 4,855
Employer contributions	79,960	44,068
2016 (estimated)	9,107
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Employer contributions	5,915	$ 7,739	$ 6,258
2016 (estimated)	$ 6,287

BENEFIT PLANS (Benefit Payments

BENEFIT PLANS (Benefit Payments Which Reflect Expected Future Service, Expected to be Paid) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
2,016	$ 51,286
2,017	52,434
2,018	55,527
2,019	56,835
2,020	58,161
2021-2025	305,043
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
2,016	6,287
2,017	5,856
2,018	5,623
2,019	5,415
2,020	5,152
2021-2025	$ 19,229

BENEFIT PLANS (Contributions by

BENEFIT PLANS (Contributions by Participants to Postretirement Benefit Plans) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Participants Contributions	$ 2,031	$ 1,873	$ 2,022

INCENTIVE PLANS (Narrative) (De

INCENTIVE PLANS (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2015	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Pretax compensation expense			$ 16,362	$ 22,217	$ 20,187
Expense provision under cash-based compensation plans			26,325	27,442	19,540
Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Pretax compensation expense			$ 13,159	$ 16,863	$ 16,159
Shares granted			231,730
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Granted			$ 74.85	$ 63.42	$ 53.65
Employee Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation plans expiration period (in years)			10 years
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expense provision under cash-based compensation plans			$ 982	$ 704	$ 35
Restricted Stock [Member] | Executive Officer [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares granted	14,000	60,000
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Granted	$ 74.85	$ 54.35
Minimum [Member] | Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Units paid target range			0.00%
Minimum [Member] | Employee Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation plans vesting period (in years)			4 years
Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares that may be issued			11,900,000
Maximum [Member] | Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Units paid target range			200.00%

INCENTIVE PLANS (Summary Of Act

INCENTIVE PLANS (Summary Of Activity For Nonvested Performance Share Units) (Details) - Performance Shares [Member] - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Target Number of Shares, Beginning Balance	1,019,416
Target Number of Shares, Granted	231,730
Target Number of Shares, Vested	(441,483)
Target Number of Shares, Canceled/forfeited	(3,324)
Target Number of Shares, Ending Balance	806,339	1,019,416
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Beginning Balance	$ 53.16
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Granted	74.85	$ 63.42	$ 53.65
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Vested	46.22
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Canceled/forfeited	67.28
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value, Ending Balance	$ 63.13	$ 53.16

INCENTIVE PLANS (Aggregate Valu

INCENTIVE PLANS (Aggregate Value of Performance Shares) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate value of distributed performance shares	$ 26,258	$ 0	$ 9,286

INCENTIVE PLANS (Weighted-Avera

INCENTIVE PLANS (Weighted-Average Fair Value And Weighted-Average Assumptions Used In Estimating Fair Value of Grants) (Details) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCENTIVE PLANS [Abstract]
Fair value	$ 25.17	$ 21.94	$ 16.96
Risk-free interest rate	1.85%	2.40%	1.40%
Dividend yield	1.70%	1.64%	1.72%
Volatility	33.00%	33.00%	33.00%
Expected term	8 years	8 years	8 years

INCENTIVE PLANS (Summary of Our

INCENTIVE PLANS (Summary of Our Stock Option/SOSAR Activity) (Details) - Employee Stock Options [Member] $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)$ / sharesshares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding at January 1, 2015 | shares	4,786,305
Number of Shares, Granted | shares	161,310
Number of Shares, Exercised | shares	(1,890,028)
Number of Shares, Forfeited or expired | shares	(4,838)
Number of Shares, Outstanding at December 31, 2015 | shares	3,052,749
Number of Shares, Vested and expected to vest | shares	3,038,898
Number of Shares, Exercisable at December 31, 2015 | shares	2,602,447
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Outstanding at January 1, 2015 | $ / shares	$ 59.65
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Granted | $ / shares	79.41
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Exercised | $ / shares	63.48
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Forfeited or expired | $ / shares	64.48
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Outstanding at December 31, 2015 | $ / shares	58.32
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Vested and expected to vest | $ / shares	58.27
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Exercisable at December 31, 2015 | $ / shares	$ 56.65
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Life (Years), Outstanding	4 years 4 months 10 days
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Life (Years), Vested and expected to vest	4 years 4 months 6 days
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Life (Years), Exercisable at December 31, 2015	3 years 8 months 12 days
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Outstanding at December 31, 2015 | $	$ 118,401
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Vested and expected to vest | $	118,043
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, Exercisable at December 31, 2015 | $	$ 106,100

INCENTIVE PLANS (Aggregate Intr

INCENTIVE PLANS (Aggregate Intrinsic Values Of Options Exercised) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCENTIVE PLANS [Abstract]
Aggregate intrinsic value of options/SOSARs exercised	$ 43,620	$ 7,372	$ 4,563

INCENTIVE PLANS (Cash and Stock

INCENTIVE PLANS (Cash and Stock Consideration Received and Tax Benefit Realized from Stock Option/Sosar Exercises and Compensation Cost Recorded) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
INCENTIVE PLANS [Abstract]
Cash and stock consideration received from exercises	$ 72,884	$ 23,199	$ 17,156
Tax benefit from exercises	16,920	2,844	1,770
Compensation cost	$ 2,221	$ 4,650	$ 3,936

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES99

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	May. 31, 2007entitymi	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Expenditures under the noncapital purchase commitments		$ 76,178	$ 65,582	$ 83,699
Commitments of minimum royalties under mineral leases		217,380
Expenditures for mineral royalties under mineral leases		58,048	49,685	53,768
Unrecognized tax benefits		8,447	$ 7,057	$ 12,155	$ 13,550
Number of other companies to perform a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study related to the Lower Passaic River Clean-Up lawsuit | entity	70
Number of miles of the River used in the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study | mi	17
Texas Brine and Occidental Chemical Co [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Total amount of damages claimed		500,000
Cooperating Parties Group [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated operation and maintenance costs		$ 93,000
Estimated operation and maintenance costs, Period		30 years
Minimum [Member] | EPA [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated implementation costs		$ 950,000
Minimum [Member] | Cooperating Parties Group [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated implementation costs		475,000
Maximum [Member] | EPA [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated implementation costs		1,730,000
Maximum [Member] | Cooperating Parties Group [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Estimated implementation costs		725,000
Standby Letters of Credit [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Other Liabilities		38,864
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Unconditional purchase obligations		146,864
Noncapital [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Unconditional purchase obligations		$ 48,602

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIE100

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Commitments Due) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member]
Recorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation [Line Items]
2,016	$ 67,560
Thereafter	79,304
Total	146,864
Noncapital [Member]
Recorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation [Line Items]
2,016	14,361
2017-2018	17,564
2019–2020	11,677
Thereafter	5,000
Total	$ 48,602

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIE101

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Minimum royalties under mineral leases) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]
2,016	$ 21,479
2017–2018	37,710
2019–2020	25,380
Thereafter	132,811
Total	$ 217,380

EQUITY (Details)

EQUITY (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
EQUITY [Abstract]
Common stock, par value	$ 1	$ 1
Common stock issued in connection with business acquisitions		715,004
Shares of common stock issued to trustee under 401(k) savings and retirement plan		485,306	71,208
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock to the trustee under 401(k) savings and retirement plan		$ 30,620	$ 3,821
Number of shares held in treasury	0	0	0
Number of treasury shares purchased and retired	228,000
Cost of treasury shares purchased and retired	$ 21,475
Number of treasury shares purchased		0	0
Shares remaining under the current authorization repurchase program	3,183,416

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Acc

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME [Abstract]
Cash flow hedges	$ (14,494)	$ (20,322)	$ (25,178)
Pension and postretirement plans	(105,575)	(141,392)	(74,453)
Total	$ (120,069)	$ (161,714)	$ (99,631)	$ (225,517)

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Cha

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Changes In AOCI Net Of Tax) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
AOCI, Net of Tax, Beginning Balance	$ (161,714)	$ (99,631)	$ (225,517)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	23,832	(69,051)	111,883
Amounts reclassified from AOCI	17,813	6,968	14,003
Other comprehensive income (loss)	41,645	(62,083)	125,886
AOCI, Net of Tax, Ending Balance	(120,069)	(161,714)	(99,631)
Reclassification Adjustment for Cash Flow Hedge Losses [Member]
AOCI, Net of Tax, Beginning Balance	(20,322)	(25,178)	(28,170)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	0	0	0
Amounts reclassified from AOCI	5,828	4,856	2,992
Other comprehensive income (loss)	5,828	4,856	2,992
AOCI, Net of Tax, Ending Balance	(14,494)	(20,322)	(25,178)
Amortization of Pension and Postretirement Plan Actuarial Loss and Prior Service Cost [Member]
AOCI, Net of Tax, Beginning Balance	(141,392)	(74,453)	(197,347)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	23,832	(69,051)	111,883
Amounts reclassified from AOCI	11,985	2,112	11,011
Other comprehensive income (loss)	35,817	(66,939)	122,894
AOCI, Net of Tax, Ending Balance	$ (105,575)	$ (141,392)	$ (74,453)

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Rec

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Reclassification Of Amounts From Other Comprehensive Income Loss To Earnings) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	[1]	Sep. 30, 2014	[1]	Jun. 30, 2014	[1]	Mar. 31, 2014	[1]	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Selling, administrative and general expenses														$ 286,844	$ 272,288	$ 259,427
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes														94,943	91,692	(24,459)
Net earnings		$ 88,888	$ 123,805	$ 48,162	$ (39,678)	$ 38,022		$ 66,939		$ 45,967		$ 53,995		221,177	204,923	24,382
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Net earnings														17,813	6,968	14,003
Reclassification Adjustment for Cash Flow Hedge Losses [Member] | Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Interest expense														9,759	7,988	5,077
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes														(3,931)	(3,132)	(2,085)
Net earnings	[2]													5,828	4,856	2,992
Amortization of Pension and Postretirement Plan Actuarial Loss and Prior Service Cost [Member] | Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member]
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Cost of revenues														15,916	2,789	14,516
Selling, administrative and general expenses														3,608	688	3,616
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes														(7,539)	(1,365)	(7,121)
Net earnings	[3]													$ 11,985	$ 2,112	$ 11,011
[1]	Includes a $227,910 thousand pretax gain on the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area as described in Note 19, primarily recorded in the first quarter.
[2]	Totals for 2015 and 2014 include the acceleration of a proportional amount of deferred losses on interest rate derivatives (see Note 5) referable to debt purchases (see Note 6).
[3]	Total for 2015 includes a one-time settlement loss resulting from a lump sum payment to a former employee (see Note 10). Total for 2014 includes a one-time curtailment gain (see Note 10) resulting from the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area (see Note 19).

SEGMENT REPORTING (Narrative) (

SEGMENT REPORTING (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)statesegmentmi	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)
Number of operating segments | segment	4
Number of reportable segments | segment	4
Radius for delivering product, minimum | mi	20
Radius for delivering product, maximum | mi	25
Equity method investments | $	$ 22,967	$ 22,924	$ 22,962
Concrete [Member]
Number Of States In Which Segments Serve	6
Percentage of product weight attributable to Aggregates	80.00%
Asphalt Mix [Member]
Number Of States In Which Segments Serve	4
Percentage of product weight attributable to Aggregates	95.00%
Aggregates [Member]
Number Of States In Which Segments Serve	20
Number Of Additional States Served	6
Nondomestic [Member]
Long-lived assets | $	$ 160,125	139,427	140,504
Nondomestic [Member] | Aggregates [Member]
Product sales | $	$ 11,408	$ 14,699	$ 12,339

SEGMENT REPORTING (Segment Fina

SEGMENT REPORTING (Segment Financial Disclosure) (Details) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Jan. 31, 2015property	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues			$ 857,285	$ 1,038,460	$ 895,143	$ 631,293	$ 755,027	$ 873,579	$ 791,143	$ 574,420	$ 3,422,181	$ 2,994,169	$ 2,770,709
Gross profit			253,929	$ 291,290	$ 234,449	$ 77,865	169,660	$ 209,042	$ 174,788	$ 34,092	857,533	587,582	426,880
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization											274,823	279,497	307,108
Cash items			284,060				141,273				284,060	141,273	193,738	$ 275,478
Total assets			8,301,632				8,041,097				8,301,632	8,041,097	8,233,114
Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1]		304,024				223,097				304,024	223,097	284,618
Identifiable assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[2]		7,995,691				7,808,326				7,995,691	7,808,326	7,985,169
Segment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues											3,616,298	3,192,787	3,003,435
Aggregates [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gross profit											755,666	544,070	413,301
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization											228,466	227,042	224,808
Aggregates [Member] | Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1]		269,014				180,026				269,014	180,026	253,000
Aggregates [Member] | Identifiable assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[2]		7,540,273				7,311,336				7,540,273	7,311,336	7,006,724
Aggregates [Member] | Segment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues	[3]										2,777,758	2,346,411	2,025,026
Aggregates [Member] | Intersegment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues											(194,117)	(189,393)	(185,385)
Asphalt Mix [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gross profit	[4]										78,225	38,080	32,704
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization	[4]										16,378	10,719	8,697
Number of asphalt mix plants | property		13
Asphalt Mix [Member] | Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1],[4]		8,111				20,796				8,111	20,796	17,089
Asphalt Mix [Member] | Identifiable assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[2],[4]		251,716				264,172				251,716	264,172	195,046
Asphalt Mix [Member] | Segment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues	[4]										530,692	445,538	407,657
Concrete [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gross profit	[4],[5]										20,152	2,233	(24,774)
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization	[4],[5]										11,374	19,892	32,996
Concrete [Member] | Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1],[4],[5]		19,053				19,542				19,053	19,542	13,054
Concrete [Member] | Identifiable assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[2],[4],[5]		198,193				227,000				198,193	227,000	370,103
Concrete [Member] | Segment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues	[4],[5]										299,252	375,806	471,748
Calcium [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gross profit	[6]										3,490	3,199	5,649
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization	[6]										679	1,554	18,093
Calcium [Member] | Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1],[6]		0				201				0	201	198
Calcium [Member] | Identifiable assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[2],[6]		5,509				5,818				5,509	5,818	413,296
Calcium [Member] | Segment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues	[6]										8,596	25,032	99,004
Calcium [Member] | Intersegment sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues											0	(9,225)	(47,341)
Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization											17,926	20,290	22,514
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets			21,881				91,498				21,881	91,498	54,207
Corporate [Member] | Capital expenditures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	[1]		$ 7,846				$ 2,532				$ 7,846	$ 2,532	$ 1,277
[1]	Capital expenditures include capitalized replacements of and additions to property, plant & equipment, including capitalized leases, renewals and betterments. Capital expenditures exclude property, plant & equipment obtained by business acquisitions.
[2]	Certain temporarily idled assets are included within a segment's Identifiable Assets but the associated DDA&A is shown within Other in the DDA&A section above as the related DDA&A is excluded from segment gross profit.
[3]	Includes product sales, as well as freight, delivery and transportation revenues, and other revenues related to services.
[4]	In January 2015, we exchanged our California ready-mixed concrete operations for 13 asphalt mix plants, primarily in Arizona (see Note 19).
[5]	In March 2014, we sold our concrete business in the Florida area (see Note 19).
[6]	Includes cement and calcium products. In March 2014, we sold our cement business (see Note 19).

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFOR108

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION (Supplemental Information Referable to Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION [Abstract]
Interest (exclusive of amount capitalized)	$ 208,288	$ 241,841	$ 196,794
Income taxes	53,623	79,862	30,938
Accrued liabilities for purchases of property, plant & equipment	31,883	17,120	18,864
Liabilities assumed	2,645	26,622	232
Fair value of noncash assets and liabilities exchanged	20,000	2,414	0
Fair value of equity consideration	$ 0	$ 45,185	$ 0

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (N

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)aproperty	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)
Reclamation activities	$ 18,048,000	$ 26,547,000
California [Member]
Reclamation activities	$ 13,117,000	$ 18,637,000
Adjacent aggregates sites | property	2
Property, acres | a	90

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (A

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (Asset Retirement Obligations Operating Costs) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS [Abstract]
Accretion	$ 11,474	$ 11,601	$ 10,685
Depreciation	6,515	4,462	3,527
Total	$ 17,989	$ 16,063	$ 14,212

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (R

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS (Reconciliations Of Asset Retirement Obligations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS [Abstract]
Balance at beginning of period	$ 226,565	$ 228,234
Liabilities incurred	6,235	9,130
Liabilities settled	(18,048)	(26,547)
Accretion expense	11,474	11,601	$ 10,685
Revisions, net	368	4,147
Balance at end of period	$ 226,594	$ 226,565	$ 228,234

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill by Reportable Segment) (Details) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
		Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012
Goodwill				$ 3,094,824,000	$ 3,094,824,000		$ 3,081,521,000		$ 3,086,716,000
Goodwill of divested businesses		$ (4,521,000)	$ (674,000)				(5,195,000)	[1]
Goodwill of acquired businesses				0	13,303,000	[1]
Aggregates [Member]
Goodwill				3,003,191,000	3,003,191,000		2,989,888,000		2,995,083,000
Goodwill of divested businesses	[1]						(5,195,000)
Goodwill of acquired businesses	[1]				13,303,000
Asphalt Mix [Member]
Goodwill				91,633,000	91,633,000		91,633,000		91,633,000
Goodwill of divested businesses	[1]						0
Goodwill of acquired businesses	[1]				0
Concrete [Member]
Goodwill				0	0		0		0
Goodwill of divested businesses	[1]						0
Goodwill of acquired businesses	[1]				0
Calcium [Member]
Goodwill				$ 0	0		0		$ 0
Goodwill of divested businesses	[1]						$ 0
Goodwill of acquired businesses	[1]				$ 0
[1]	Refer to Note 19 for additional details.

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSE113

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Gross Carrying Amount and Accumulated Amortization by Major Intangible Asset Class) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount		$ 859,017	$ 835,667
Accumulated amortization		(92,438)	(77,424)
Total Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization, net		766,579	758,243
Intangible Assets with Indefinite Lives		0	0
Total Intangible Assets, net		766,579	758,243
Amortization Expense for the Year		15,618	10,966	$ 11,732
Goodwill, Impairment Loss		0	0	0
Impairment of Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)		2,858	0	$ 0
Contractual Rights In Place [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount		735,935	719,100
Accumulated amortization		(65,641)	(54,019)
Noncompetition Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount		2,800	2,550
Accumulated amortization		(506)	(119)
Favorable Lease Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount		16,677	16,677
Accumulated amortization		(4,002)	(3,489)
Permitting Permitting Compliance And Zoning Rights [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount		99,513	93,273
Accumulated amortization		(20,350)	(18,270)
Other [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount	[1]	4,092	4,067
Accumulated amortization	[1]	$ (1,939)	$ (1,527)
[1]	Includes customer relationships and tradenames and trademarks.

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSE114

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Estimated Amortization Expense) (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS [Abstract]
2,016	$ 19,946
2,017	20,797
2,018	21,702
2,019	19,746
2,020	$ 20,247

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURE115

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Narrative) (Details)		3 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013USD ($)property	Mar. 31, 2013USD ($)property	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)property	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)propertyitemshares		Dec. 31, 2013USD ($)
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of property, plant & equipment				$ 11,261,000			$ 8,218,000	$ 26,028,000		$ 17,576,000
Total consideration							47,198,000	331,836,000
Payment for acquisition of businesses							27,198,000	284,237,000		89,951,000
Exchanges of real property and businesses							20,000,000	2,414,000
Cash paid							27,198,000
Amortizable intangible assets recognized								128,286,000
Goodwill							0	13,303,000	[1]
Proceeds from sale of businesses, net of transaction costs					$ 34,743,000	$ 5,133,000	0	721,359,000		51,604,000
Gain on sale of properties and businesses				9,027,000	21,183,000	2,802,000	9,927,000	244,222,000		39,250,000
Purchases of property, plant & equipment							289,262,000	224,852,000		275,380,000
Capital gains with deferred income taxes							665,057,000	661,697,000
Consideration transferred, common stock							$ 0	$ 45,185,000		0
Common stock issued in connection with business acquisitions | shares								715,004
Goodwill of dispositions					4,521,000	$ 674,000				5,195,000	[1]
Withdrawl liability					$ 4,000,000
Aggregates [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities divested | property					4	1
Goodwill	[1]							$ 13,303,000
Goodwill of dispositions	[1]									5,195,000
Aggregates [Member] | Arizona and New Mexico [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property							3
Aggregates [Member] | Maryland [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of property, plant & equipment			$ 10,727,000
Gain on sale of properties and businesses			168,000
Aggregates [Member] | Tennessee [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of property, plant & equipment			5,820,000
Gain on sale of properties and businesses			5,790,000
Concrete [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Goodwill	[1]							0
Goodwill of dispositions	[1]									0
Concrete [Member] | Arizona and New Mexico [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property							7
Asphalt Mix [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Goodwill	[1]							0
Goodwill of dispositions	[1]									$ 0
Asphalt Mix [Member] | Arizona [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property							13
Cement And Concrete [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of businesses, net of transaction costs			721,359,000
Gain on sale of properties and businesses			$ 227,910,000					227,910,000
Supply agreement period			20 years
Contractual Rights In Place [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Amortizable intangible assets recognized								$ 36,921,000
Estimated weighted-average amortization period of intangible assets								40 years
Intangible assets amortization period, tax purposes							15 years	15 years
Unit Of Production Method [Member] | Aggregates and Concrete [Member] | Arizona and New Mexico [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Amortizable intangible assets recognized							$ 10,317,000
Estimated weighted-average amortization period of intangible assets							34 years
Straight Line Method [Member] | Asphalt Mix [Member] | Arizona [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Amortizable intangible assets recognized							$ 7,168,000
Estimated weighted-average amortization period of intangible assets							20 years
California ready-mixed concrete operations [Member] | California [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities divested | property							12
Gain on sale of properties and businesses		$ 5,886,000
Asphalt plants and Aggregates facilities [Member] | Asphalt And Aggregates [Member] | California [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property								2
Aggregates sites [Member] | Aggregates [Member] | California [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property								4
Aggregates sites [Member] | Aggregates [Member] | Arizona and New Mexico [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property								5
Aggregates sites [Member] | Aggregates [Member] | Delaware [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | property								2
Rail-connected aggregates operation [Member] | Dallas/Fort Worth [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | item								1
Permitted aggregates quarry [Member] | Alabama [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of facilities acquired | item								1
Distribution yards [Member] | Dallas/Fort Worth [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of distribution yard acquired | property								2
Volumetric production payment (VPP) [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Gross proceeds from sale of future production				154,000,000
Business Acquisition, Transaction Costs				$ 905,000
[1]	Refer to Note 19 for additional details.

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURE116

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Comprehensive Income Actual Results) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES [Abstract]
Total revenues	$ 67,002
Net earnings	$ 1,938

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURE117

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Schedule Of Business Acquisitions) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES [Abstract]
Cash	$ 27,198
Exchanges of real property and businesses	20,000	$ 2,414
Total fair value of purchase consideration	47,198	331,836
Accounts and notes receivable, net	2,105
Inventories	3,559
Other current assets	358
Property, plant & equipment, net	26,087
Contractual rights in place	17,484
Noncompetition agreement	250
Liabilities assumed	(2,645)
Net identifiable assets acquired	47,198
Goodwill	$ 0	$ 13,303	[1]
[1]	Refer to Note 19 for additional details.

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURE118

ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Classification Of Assets And Liabilities Held For Sale) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES [Abstract]
Current assets	$ 0	$ 1,773
Property, plant & equipment, net	0	12,764
Other intangible assets, net	0	647
Total assets held for sale	0	15,184
Asset retirement obligations	0	520
Total liabilities of assets held for sale	$ 0	$ 520

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (D

UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended															12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Total revenues	$ 857,285,000	$ 1,038,460,000	$ 895,143,000	$ 631,293,000	$ 755,027,000		$ 873,579,000		$ 791,143,000		$ 574,420,000					$ 3,422,181,000	$ 2,994,169,000	$ 2,770,709,000
Gross profit	253,929,000	291,290,000	234,449,000	77,865,000	169,660,000		209,042,000		174,788,000		34,092,000					857,533,000	587,582,000	426,880,000
Operating earnings	173,037,000	212,206,000	153,776,000	10,759,000	99,892,000	[1]	140,331,000	[1]	103,246,000	[1]	194,669,000	[1]				549,778,000	538,138,000	190,404,000
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations	93,560,000	126,202,000	49,819,000	(36,667,000)	38,349,000	[1]	67,781,000	[1]	46,511,000	[1]	54,505,000	[1]				232,914,000	207,146,000	20,756,000
Net earnings (loss)	$ 88,888,000	$ 123,805,000	$ 48,162,000	$ (39,678,000)	$ 38,022,000	[1]	$ 66,939,000	[1]	$ 45,967,000	[1]	$ 53,995,000	[1]				$ 221,177,000	$ 204,923,000	$ 24,382,000
Basic earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations	$ 0.70	$ 0.95	$ 0.37	$ (0.28)	$ 0.29		$ 0.51		$ 0.35		$ 0.42					$ 1.75	$ 1.58	$ 0.16
Diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations	0.69	0.93	0.37	(0.28)	0.29		0.51		0.35		0.41					1.72	1.56	0.16
Basic net earnings (loss) per share	0.67	0.93	0.36	(0.30)	0.29		0.51		0.35		0.41					1.66	1.56	0.19
Diluted net earnings (loss) per share	$ 0.65	$ 0.91	$ 0.36	$ (0.30)	$ 0.28		$ 0.50		$ 0.35		$ 0.41					$ 1.64	$ 1.54	$ 0.19
Gain on sale of properties and businesses													$ 9,027,000	$ 21,183,000	$ 2,802,000	$ 9,927,000	$ 244,222,000	$ 39,250,000
Cement And Concrete [Member]
Gain on sale of properties and businesses											$ 227,910,000						$ 227,910,000
[1]	Includes a $227,910 thousand pretax gain on the sale of our cement and concrete businesses in the Florida area as described in Note 19, primarily recorded in the first quarter.