Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

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 15, 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 are generally based on salaries or wages and years of service; the Construction Materials Hourly Plan and the Chemicals Hourly Plan provide benefits equal to a flat dollar amount for each year of service. Effective July 15, 2007, we amended our defined benefit pension plans and our then existing defined contribution 401(k) plans to no longer accept new participants. Existing participants continue to accrue benefits under these plans. Salaried and non-union hourly employees hired on or after July 15, 2007 are eligible for a new single defined contribution 401(k)/Profit-Sharing plan established on that date.

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	2011			2010
Change in Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year		$761,384			$709,783
Service cost		20,762			19,217
Interest cost		42,383			41,621
Actuarial loss		81,699			27,094
Benefits paid		(38,854	)		(36,331	)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year		$867,374			$761,384
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of assets at beginning of year		$630,303			$493,646
Actual return on plan assets		40,293			94,629
Employer contribution		4,906			78,359
Benefits paid		(38,854	)		(36,331	)
Fair value of assets at end of year		$636,648			$630,303
Funded status		($230,726	)		($131,081	)
Net amount recognized		($230,726	)		($131,081	)
Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated
Balance Sheets
Noncurrent assets		$0			$1,083
Current liabilities		(4,880	)		(5,028	)
Noncurrent liabilities		(225,846	)		(127,136	)
Net amount recognized		($230,726	)		($131,081	)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial loss		$281,352			$202,135
Prior service cost		597			938
Total amount recognized		$281,949			$203,073

The accumulated benefit obligation and the projected benefit obligation exceeded plan assets for all defined benefit plans at December 31, 2011. The accumulated benefit obligation and the projected benefit obligation exceeded plan assets for our Salaried Plan and Construction Materials Hourly Plan at December 31, 2010. Assets in the Chemicals Hourly Plan of $85,178,000 exceeded the accumulated benefit obligation by $2,272,000 and the projected benefit obligation by $1,083,000 at December 31, 2010.

The accumulated benefit obligation for all defined benefit pension plans was $812,346,000 at December 31, 2011 and $719,447,000 at December 31, 2010.

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:

		000000000			000000000			000000000
dollars in thousands	2011			2010			2009
Components of Net Periodic Pension   Benefit Cost
Service cost		$20,762			$19,217			$18,638
Interest cost		42,383			41,621			41,941
Expected return on plan assets		(49,480	)		(50,122	)		(46,505	)
Amortization of prior service cost		340			460			460
Amortization of actuarial loss		11,670			5,752			1,651
Net periodic pension benefit cost		$25,675			$16,928			$16,185
Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit   Obligations Recognized in Other   Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial loss (gain)		$90,886			($17,413	)		$27,811
Reclassification of actuarial loss to net   periodic pension benefit cost		(11,670	)		(5,752	)		(1,651	)
Reclassification of prior service cost to net   periodic pension benefit cost		(340	)		(460	)		(460	)
Amount recognized in other comprehensive   income		$78,876			($23,625	)		$25,700
Amount recognized in net periodic pension   benefit cost and other comprehensive   income		$104,551			($6,697	)		$41,885
Assumptions
Weighted-average assumptions used to   determine net periodic benefit cost for   years ended December 31
Discount rate		5.49	%		5.92	%		6.60	%
Expected return on plan assets		8.00	%		8.25	%		8.25	%
Rate of compensation increase
(for salary-related plans)		3.50	%		3.40	%		4.75	%
Weighted-average assumptions used to   determine benefit obligation at   December 31
Discount rate		4.96	%		5.49	%		5.92	%
Rate of compensation increase   (for salary-related plans)		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.40	%

The estimated net actuarial loss and prior service cost that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic pension benefit cost during 2012 are $19,443,000 and $274,000, respectively.

Assumptions regarding our expected return on plan assets are based primarily on judgments made by us and our Board’s Finance and Pension Funds Committee. These judgments take into account the expectations of our pension plan consultants and actuaries and our investment advisors, and the opinions of market professionals. We base our expected return on long-term investment expectations. The expected return on plan assets used to determine 2011 pension benefit cost was 8.00%.

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 — 10% to 20%; 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 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, 2011 and 2010 by asset category are as follows:

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT DECEMBER 31, 2011

		000000000		000000000		000000000		000000000
in thousands	Level 1  1		Level 2 1		Level 3 1		Total
Asset Category
Debt securities		$0		$152,240		$0		$152,240
Investment funds
Commodity funds		0		26,498		0		26,498
Equity funds		884		346,632		0		347,516
Short-term funds		3,593		0		0		3,593
Venture capital and partnerships		0		0		106,801		106,801
Total pension plan assets		$4,477		$525,370		$106,801		$636,648

¹ See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy.

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT DECEMBER 31, 2010

		000000000		000000000		000000000		000000000
in thousands	Level 1  1		Level 2 1		Level 3  1		Total
Asset Category
Debt securities		$0		$127,193		$308		$127,501
Investment funds
Commodity funds		0		29,270		0		29,270
Equity funds		128		361,190		0		361,318
Short-term funds		2		15,965		0		15,967
Venture capital and partnerships		0		0		96,244		96,244
Other		0		3		0		3
Total pension plan assets		$130		$533,621		$96,552		$630,303

¹ See Note 1 under the caption Fair Value Measurements for a description of the fair value hierarchy.

As of December 31, 2008, our Master Pension Trust had assets invested at Westridge Capital Management, Inc. (WCM) with a reported fair value of $59,245,000. In February 2009, the New York District Court appointed a receiver over WCM due to allegations of fraud and other violations of federal commodities and securities laws by principals of a WCM affiliate. In light of these allegations, we reassessed the fair value of our investments at WCM and recorded a $48,018,000 write-down in the estimated fair value of these assets for the year ended December 31, 2008.

During 2010, the court-appointed receiver released $6,555,000 as a partial distribution and the Master Pension Trust received a $15,000,000 insurance settlement related to our WCM loss. In April 2011, the court-appointed receiver released an additional $22,041,000 to our Master Pension Trust. This recovery resulted in the recognition of a $10,814,000 return on plan assets (net of the $11,227,000 remaining WCM investment).

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 table above and the valuation techniques we used to determine the fair values as of December 31, 2011.

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 maturity, term, 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 is presented below:

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

USING SIGNIFICANT UNOBSERVABLE INPUTS (LEVEL 3)

in thousands	Debt Securities			Venture Capital and Partnerships			Total
Balance at December 31, 2009		$320			$93,262			$93,582
Actual return on plan assets
Relating to assets still held at December 31, 2010		1			4,727			4,728
Relating to assets sold during the year ended   December 31, 2010		0			0			0
Purchases, sales and settlements, net		(13	)		(1,745	)		(1,758	)
Transfers in (out) of Level 3		0			0			0
Balance at December 31, 2010		$308			$96,244			$96,552
Actual return on plan assets
Relating to assets still held at December 31, 2011		0			13,696			13,696
Relating to assets sold during the year ended   December 31, 2011		0			0			0
Purchases, sales and settlements, net		0			(3,139	)		(3,139	)
Transfers in (out) of Level 3		(308	)		0			(308	)
Balance at December 31, 2011		$0			$106,801			$106,801

Total employer contributions for the pension plans are presented below:

in thousands	Pension
Employer Contributions
2009	$	27,616
2010		78,359
2011		4,906
2012 (estimated)		4,880

We contributed $72,500,000 in March 2010 ($18,636,000 in cash and $53,864,000 in stock — 1,190,000 shares valued at $45.26 per share) and an additional $1,300,000 in July 2010 to our qualified pension plans for the 2009 plan year. These contributions, along with the existing funding credits, should be sufficient to cover expected required contributions to the qualified plans until 2013. In addition to the contributions to our qualified pension plans, we made $4,906,000 and $4,559,000 of benefit payments for our nonqualified plans during 2011 and 2010, respectively, and expect to make payments of $4,880,000 during 2012 for our nonqualified plans.

The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid:

in thousands	Pension
Estimated Future Benefit Payments
2012		$42,048
2013		41,488
2014		50,147
2015		48,123
2016		50,085
2017-2021		275,298

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

A summary of each multiemployer pension plan for which we participate is presented below:

Pension     Fund	EIN/Pension Plan Number	Pension Protection Act Zone Status 1		FIP/RP Status Pending/ Implemented	Vulcan Contributions in thousands			Surcharge Imposed	Expiration Date/Range of CBAs
		2011	2010		2011	2010	2009
A	36-6042061-001	orange	orange	no	$162	$176	$203	no	5/31/2013
									1/31/2012 -
B	36-6052390-001	green	green	no	408	494	436	no	1/31/2013
									5/30/2012 -
C	36-6044243-001	red	red	no	276	267	213	no	6/30/2014
D	51-6031295-002	green	green	no	52	49	62	no	3/31/2014
E	94-6277608-001	yellow	yellow	yes	177	176	181	no	7/15/2013
									9/30/2012 -
F	52-6074345-001	red	red	yes	840	825	801	no	7/31/2014
G	51-6067400-001	green	green	no	166	181	169	no	4/30/2014
									9/30/2011 -
H	36-6140097-001	green	green	no	1,543	1,566	1,553	no	4/30/2014
									7/15/2013 -
I	94-6090764-001	orange	orange	yes	1,737	1,576	1,641	no	9/17/2013
J	95-6032478-001	red	red	yes	313	243	292	no	9/30/2015
K	36-6155778-001	red	red	yes	198	195	198	no	4/30/2013
L 2	51-6051034-001	green	green	no	24	54	49	no	1/31/2013
									1/15/2012 -
M	91-6145047-001	green	green	no	882	764	929	no	9/30/2014
Total contributions					$6,778	$6,566	$6,727

A      Automobile Mechanics Local No. 701 Pension Fund	H     Midwest Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund
B      Central Pension Fund of the IUOE and Participating Employers	I       Operating Engineers Trust Funds - Local 3
C      Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan	J      Operating Engineers Pension Trust Funds - Local 12
D     IAM National Pension Fund	K      Suburban Teamsters of Northern Illinois Pension Plan
E      Laborers Trust Funds for Northern California	L      Teamsters Union No 142 Pension Trust Fund
F      LIUNA National Industrial Pension Fund	M     Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund
G     Local 786 Building Material Pension Trust

 ¹ The Pension Protection Act of 2006 defines the zone status as follows: green - healthy, yellow - endangered, orange - seriously endangered and red - critical.

 ² All employees covered under this plan were located at operations divested on 9/30/2011.

Our contributions to individual multiemployer pension funds did not exceed 5% of the fund’s total contributions in any of the three years ended December 31, 2011. Additionally, our contributions to multiemployer other postretirement benefit plans were immaterial for all periods presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2011, a total of 15% of our domestic hourly labor force was covered by collective bargaining agreements. Of such employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, 19% were covered by agreements that expire in 2012. We also employed 228 union employees in Mexico, none of whom are participants in multiemployer pension plans.

In addition to the qualified plans, we sponsor unfunded, nonqualified pension plans, including one such plan assumed in the Florida Rock acquisition. The following table presents the projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation and fair value of assets for these plans as of December 31:

		$000,000000		$000,000000
in thousands	2011		2010
Unfunded, nonqualified pension plans
Projected benefit obligation		$83,025		$77,400
Accumulated benefit obligation		76,795		72,000
Fair value of assets		0		0

Approximately $8,400,000 and $9,000,000 of the unfunded, nonqualified pension plan obligations at December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively, relate to existing Florida Rock retirees receiving benefits under the assumed plan.

In addition to the pension plans noted above, we had one unfunded supplemental retirement plan as of December 31, 2011 and 2010. The accrued costs for the supplemental retirement plan were $1,293,000 at December 31, 2011 and $1,381,000 at December 31, 2010.

POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

In addition to pension benefits, we provide certain healthcare and life insurance benefits for some retired employees. Effective July 15, 2007, we amended our salaried postretirement healthcare coverage to increase the eligibility age for early retirement coverage to age 62, unless certain grandfathering provisions were met. Substantially all our salaried employees and where applicable, 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.

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, Health Care Reform) were signed into law. We estimated the impact of Health Care Reform on our postretirement benefit obligations and first reflected it in our December 31, 2010 measurement. Subsequently, we applied and were approved for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP). Due to the uncertain nature of ERRP, its impact was not reflected in our postretirement benefit obligations.

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	2011			2010
Change in Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year		$133,717			$118,313
Service cost		4,789			4,265
Interest cost		6,450			6,651
Actuarial (gain) loss		(2,854	)		11,730
Benefits paid		(7,176	)		(7,242	)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year		$134,926			$133,717
Change in 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		($134,926	)		($133,717	)
Net amount recognized		($134,926	)		($133,717	)
Amounts Recognized in the   Consolidated Balance Sheets
Current liabilities		($9,966	)		($9,100	)
Noncurrent liabilities		(124,960	)		(124,617	)
Net amount recognized		($134,926	)		($133,717	)
Amounts Recognized in Accumulated   Other Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial loss		$26,006			$30,008
Prior service credit		(4,141	)		(4,815	)
Total amount recognized		$21,865			$25,193

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	2011		2010		2009
Components of Net Periodic Postretirement   Benefit Cost
Service cost	$4,789		$4,265		$3,912
Interest cost	6,450		6,651		7,045
Amortization of prior service credit	(674	)	(728	)	(823	)
Amortization of actuarial loss	1,149		887		598
Net periodic postretirement benefit cost	$11,714		$11,075		$10,732
Changes in Plan Assets and Benefit   Obligations Recognized in Other   Comprehensive Income
Net actuarial (gain) loss	($2,853	)	$11,730		$974
Reclassification of actuarial loss to net   periodic postretirement benefit cost	(1,149	)	(887	)	(598	)
Reclassification of prior service credit to net   periodic postretirement benefit cost	674		728		823
Amount recognized in other comprehensive   income	($3,328	)	$11,571		$1,199
Amount recognized in net periodic   postretirement benefit cost and other comprehensive income	$8,386		$22,646		$11,931
Assumptions   Assumed Healthcare Cost Trend Rates   at December 31
Healthcare cost trend rate assumed   for next year	7.50%		8.00%		8.50%
Rate to which the cost trend rate gradually   declines	5.00%		5.00%		5.00%
Year that the rate reaches the rate it is   assumed to maintain	2017		2017		2017
Weighted-average assumptions used to   determine net periodic benefit cost for   years ended December 31
Discount rate	4.95%		5.45%		6.65%
Weighted-average assumptions used to   determine benefit obligation at   December 31
Discount rate	4.60%		4.95%		5.45%

The estimated net actuarial loss and prior service credit that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic postretirement benefit cost during 2012 are $1,086,000 and ($674,000), respectively.

Assumed healthcare cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the healthcare plans. A one-percentage-point change in the assumed healthcare cost trend rate would have the following effects:

in thousands	One-percentage-point Increase		One-percentage-point Decrease
Effect on total of service and interest cost		$1,326		($1,146	)
Effect on postretirement benefit obligation		12,043		(10,653	)

Total employer contributions for the postretirement plans are presented below:

in thousands	Postretirement
Employer Contributions
2009		$6,455
2010		7,242
2011		7,176
2012 (estimated)		9,966

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
2012		$9,966
2013		10,344
2014		10,783
2015		11,048
2016		11,379
2017–2021		61,962

Contributions by participants to the postretirement benefit plans for the years ended December 31 are as follows:

in thousands	Postretirement
Participants Contributions
2009		$1,673
2010		1,829
2011		1,933

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 fixed-income security yields, specifically high-quality bonds. We also analyze the duration of plan liabilities and the yields for corresponding high-quality bonds. At December 31, 2011, the discount rates for our various plans ranged from 4.15% to 5.08%.

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, 2011, the expected return on plan assets remained consistent with 2010 at 8.0% and was down from 8.25% in 2009.

In projecting the rate of compensation increase, we consider past experience and future expectations. At December 31, 2011, our projected weighted-average rate of compensation remained 3.50%.

In selecting the rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered healthcare benefits, we consider past performance and forecasts of future healthcare cost trends. At December 31, 2011, our assumed rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered healthcare benefits was 7.50% for 2012, decreasing each year until reaching 5.0% in 2017 and remaining level thereafter.

DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS

We sponsor three defined contribution plans. Substantially all salaried and nonunion hourly employees are eligible to be covered by one of these plans. As stated above, effective July 15, 2007, we amended our defined benefit pension plans and our defined contribution 401(k) plans to no longer accept new participants. Existing participants continue to accrue benefits under these plans. Salaried and nonunion hourly employees hired on or after July 15, 2007 are eligible for a single defined contribution 401(k)/Profit-Sharing plan. Expense recognized in connection with these plans totaled $16,057,000 in 2011, $15,273,000 in 2010 and $13,361,000 in 2009.