NATION'S SALT SUPPLY SHORT - WV In Good Shape

(11/17/2008)

There is a nationwide shortage of road salt. It has some states scrambling as winter arrives, but West Virginia should be in good shape, according to state officials. Greg Phillips, Division of Highways manager for District 4 in Fairmont, says the state saved thousands of dollars by stocking up on the supply during the warm weather months. Since then, the price of salt has gone from $44 a ton up to $140 per ton. With winter approaching, supplies of road salt across the U.S. are running extremely low. Prices are skyrocketing, and transportation officials are frantically trying to find ways to pay the bill at a time when their budgets are tightening. U.S. salt suppliers shipped a near-record 20.3 million tons last year compared with the average 16 million tons a year through the previous decade. When it came time to put in this winter's orders, many states put their bids in early - and for amounts far larger than before.

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