Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC), a maker of construction materials such as cement and asphalt, announced Q2 earnings yesterday evening. Although the company has a cool name -- come on, who doesn't think of Mr. Spock when reading about Vulcan Materials -- there wasn't a significant cool factor surrounding the Q2 numbers. Net income from continuing operations came in at 14 cents per share. The company made $1.27 per share from continuing businesses in the year-ago period.

Big drop, that is. Sales likewise headed south: the company booked revenues of roughly $722 million in the second quarter. Vulcan Materials had a top line of over $1 billion in Q2 2008.

This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"Roadways and bridges around the U.S. are in terrible shape," notes Neil George, who looks at a rather unexpected "resource." The senior editor of Personal Finance explains, "We are recommending Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE: MLM), the leading company in bedrock, a little discussed, but highly important "hard asset."

He notes, "Bedrock is literally the rock that gets laid down before any concrete or asphalt is poured or any pylon is set. Aggregate forms the base of every project -- roadways and bridges as well as airport, rail system, or seaport improvements.

"Martin Marietta Materials, which was spun off from the aeronautical engineering company Martin Marietta Corp, is the best in the business. The firm is now one of the top two players in its space; it's working on projects in 31 states.

"Federal, state, and local authorities are starting to come to the table because they know we need major work to keep the economy moving. Congress is forming legislation for roadway and bridge spending. And state governments are coming up with new, overdue transportation spending plans.

"The company sells more than 200 million tons of aggregate each year, and that number is rising at a steady rate of nearly 13% annually. That's before we ramp up to catch up on our current mess.

"Margins are running at more than 18% and are increasing by more than 11%. The more Martin Marietta Materials sells, the more its profits climb. And it's cheap: The shares have yet to catch up to the value of its book of business."