The top of the cycle had been reached. The industry was due for a slowdown. There was no way companies such as US Concrete (NASDAQ: USCR) could sustain its valuation metrics. That's what many investors and analysts were predicting for 2017. Turns out, they were wrong.The pessimism never came true in the last 12 months, anyway, as urban cement supplier's stock has continued to trek higher throughout the year.