Knife River’s products and EPD coverage, decoded
Knife River is a vertically integrated heavyweight across the West, selling rock to roadways and everything between. The portfolio is broad. The EPD story is even broader for concrete and gaining for asphalt, with room to grow in aggregates. If your team bids public work or LEED v5‑leaning projects, this is where specability either clicks or costs you.
Who Knife River is, and what they sell
Knife River operates across 14 states with a materials‑led model spanning aggregates, ready‑mix concrete, asphalt, precast and construction services. Company disclosures point to 188 aggregate sites, 101 ready‑mix plants and 56 asphalt plants, anchored by about 1.2 billion tons of reserves (Knife River Investor Info, 2025) (Investor Info, 2025). Their sustainability page highlights operational shifts like renewable diesel and large‑scale asphalt recycling that matter on the ground, not just in slide decks (Knife River Sustainability, 2025) (Sustainability, 2025).
How many SKUs are we talking about
Across regions, SKUs easily land in the hundreds. One published NRMCA listing alone covers 479 ready‑mix products from four Knife River plants in the Portland, OR market (NRMCA, 2025) (NRMCA EPD Directory, 2025). Multiply that pattern across dozens of plants and it’s clear why concrete is their EPD workhorse.
Where EPD coverage is strongest
Ready‑mix concrete is well covered with plant‑ and mix‑specific Type III EPDs under the NRMCA program. The Portland example above is a clear signal that mix transparency is mature in multiple Knife River markets (NRMCA, 2025).
Asphalt is catching up. Published asphalt mix EPDs appear for several Knife River plants in Oregon, Idaho and South Dakota on the NAPA AsphaltEPD registry, for example OR54D20000 at the Sundial or Coffee Lake facilities and entries in Boise and Sioux Falls (AsphaltEPD, 2025) (AsphaltEPD Oregon listing, 2025).
Where coverage can grow (and why it matters commercially)
Aggregates are foundational to their business and to most bids, yet we could not locate publicly posted aggregate EPDs for Knife River on major registries as of December 18, 2025 (NSSGA Aggregates EPD program, 2025) (NSSGA EPDs for Aggregates, 2025). Demand is rising. NSSGA and EPA funding are pushing the industry to publish aggregate EPDs at scale, which will turn buyer expectations into table stakes in many markets (NSSGA, 2024).
If a spec requires aggregate EPDs today, rivals can win the tie. Graniterock’s aggregate EPDs are published through NRMCA, which gives project teams a ready reference when they must document embodied carbon in stone and sand packages (NRMCA, 2025). In asphalt, Lakeside Industries is visible on AsphaltEPD across Oregon, which can tilt choices on DOT and municipal work when documents are due Friday at 4 pm (AsphaltEPD, 2025).
A likely gap hiding in plain sight
Manufactured sand and base rock are classic high‑volume SKUs in roadwork. Knife River lists quartzite manufactured sand and other aggregates in South Dakota product pages, but we did not find a matching public EPD for those materials on the main registries named above as of today (Knife River SD product pages, 2025). That makes submittals harder on jobs that prefer or require product‑specific EPDs, and it nudges buyers toward competitors who can check the EPD box without extra paperwork. It’s a small fricton that becomes a big one at bid time.
What LEED v5 means for their materials
LEED v5 was ratified by USGBC members on March 28, 2025 and keeps EPD disclosure while turning the dial toward embodied‑carbon outcomes across the bill of materials (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC LEED v5, 2025). For manufacturers, that means two things. First, product‑specific, third‑party‑verified EPDs still unlock credit pathways. Second, owners and GCs will compare results across similar products more often, not just the presence of a label.
Competitors Knife River meets in the field
Regional lineups vary by city, but frequent rivals include CRH Americas, Heidelberg Materials, Martin Marietta, CalPortland, Vulcan, Granite and Lakeside Industries for asphalt in parts of the Pacific Northwest. On public work in particular, an EPD can be the difference between being considered or being swapped for a like‑kind SKU that keeps the scorecard intact.
Knife River’s sustainability signals worth noting
The company reports that 33 percent of diesel use in 2024 was renewable diesel and that it recycled about 1.4 million tons of asphalt that year, both helpful proof points when owners ask for scope and circularity context alongside EPDs (Knife River Sustainability, 2025) (Sustainability, 2025). Their prestress division publicly notes an EPD generator partnership for concrete mixes, suggesting a practical path to keep EPDs current as mix designs evolve project by project (Knife River Prestress, 2025) (Prestress Sustainability, 2025).
Practical moves that strengthen spec wins
- Cement the advantage where it’s already strong. Keep expanding mix‑specific concrete EPDs to every active plant area, since teams often need product counts across multiple CSI scopes on one job (NRMCA, 2025).
- Bring aggregates into the light. Use the current aggregates PCR and program operator frameworks to publish quarry‑specific EPDs, starting with top‑volume sites in DOT corridors (NSSGA, 2025).
- Standardize asphalt EPD coverage. Make sure each hot‑mix plant has a current, published EPD for common DOT mixes so estimators never stall on a submittal chase (AsphaltEPD, 2025).
Bottom line for manufacturers tracking Knife River
Knife River is not a pure play. It is a multi‑category materials and paving business with hundreds of SKUs and clear strengths in ready‑mix EPDs, growing asphalt transparency, and an aggregates opportunity that could unlock more wins where documentation rules. In markets shaped by LEED v5 and public‑sector procurement, the teams that make data collection painless and publish high‑quality EPDs fastest tend to show up more often in the spec set.
Frequently Asked Questions
How broad is Knife River’s product portfolio and footprint today?
Knife River reports 188 aggregate sites, 101 ready‑mix plants and 56 asphalt plants across 14 states, supported by about 1.2 billion tons of reserves (Knife River Investor Info, 2025) (Investor Info, 2025).
Where are Knife River’s EPDs most mature?
Ready‑mix concrete. One NRMCA listing covers 479 mixes from four plants in Portland, OR, and similar multi‑plant EPDs exist in other markets (NRMCA, 2025) (NRMCA EPD Directory, 2025).
Do they have asphalt EPDs?
Yes in several markets. Knife River plants in OR, ID and SD appear on the AsphaltEPD registry with mix‑specific declarations, such as OR54D20000 in Oregon (AsphaltEPD, 2025) (AsphaltEPD Oregon listing, 2025).
What about aggregates EPDs?
We did not find publicly posted aggregate EPDs for Knife River on major registries as of December 18, 2025. The NSSGA program and EPA support signal growing expectations for aggregate EPDs industry‑wide (NSSGA, 2024) (NSSGA EPA grant, 2024).
Where can I read Knife River’s sustainability details?
See their sustainability page for metrics like renewable diesel use and reclaimed asphalt volumes (Knife River Sustainability, 2025) (Sustainability, 2025).
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
