And regarding COVID-19, we currently have about 13% or 265 employees testing positive with rates dropping significantly over the past six weeks.
We're scheduling vaccine clinics at our facilities when possible and offering a $250 incentive to those who are fully vaccinated.
Now, despite my pleased employees, at this point, I only have about 40% of our US employee base as been vaccinated.
And has been back up and running for a few weeks now, and while it was a major inconvenience operationally and commercially, The impact on our consolidated results for the first and second quarter is expected at less than 5% and already baked into our full-year guidance.
I want to congratulate the team at L'Anse for earning the President's Award and to the 10 other impressive teams in locations listed in the finalists' category.
Moving to Slide 11 that recognizes our L'Anse's facility going for three years without any serious injuries and our plant in Nyborg, Denmark, recently completing 365 days, an entire year, without any serious injuries which includes keeping their employees and contractors safe, while managing a number of major projects.
We opened up participation in the event to customers, suppliers, and the community, and had approximately 1,200 people join this virtual event to encourage positive change.
As shown on Slide 18, consolidated sales were $408 million, which was a first-quarter record for Koppers and also an increase from sales of $402 million in the prior year.
Sales for RUPS were $192 million, up slightly from $190 million.
PC sales rose to $124 million, up from $111 million, and CM&C sales came in at $92 million, down from $101 million.
On Slide 19, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $55 million or 13.5% and this is a first-quarter record and also up from $38 million or 9.4% in the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA for RUPS increased to $16 million, up from $13 million.
PC EBITDA rose to $28 million, up from $17 million and CM&C EBITDA was $10 million compared with $7 million.
On Slide 20, sales for RUPS were $192 million, slightly higher than the $190 million in the prior year.
In Q1 crosstie procurement decreased 27% from the prior year due to a continuing tight supply for untreated ties as well as unfavorable weather.
Crosstie treatment in the first quarter was higher than prior year by 6%, driven by increased volumes from Class I railroad customers.
Adjusted EBITDA for RUPS was $16 million in the quarter compared with $13 million in the prior year, and this was driven by a favorable product mix and stabilization in our maintenance of way businesses, offset in part by lower commercial crosstie volumes.
On Slide 22, sales for PC were $124 million compared to sales of $111 million in the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA for PC was $28 million compared with $17 million in the prior year.
This shows CM&C sales at $92 million compared to sales of $101 million in the prior year.
On Slide 25, adjusted EBITDA for CM&C was $10 million in the quarter compared to $7 million in the prior year.
In terms of carbon pricing and cost trends compared with the fourth quarter, the average pricing of major products were higher by 15%, while average coal tar costs went up by 11%.
Compared with the prior-year quarter, the average pricing of major products was lower by 2%, while average coal tar cost decreased by 7%.
As seen on Slide 27, at the end of March, we had $766 million of net debt, with $326 million in available liquidity.
We continue to project $30 million of debt reduction for 2021 and we expect to be at 3.1 times to 3.2 times with our net leverage ratio at year-end.
As March 31 -- at March 31, our net leverage ratio was 3.4 times, which was a significant decline from 4.5 times just a year ago.
Longer-term, our goal continues to be between 2 times and 3 times.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales rose 12.3%, year-over-year, in March 2021, but fell 3.7% from prior month because of nearly historic lows in housing inventory.
The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity says home repair and improvement expenditures are expected to increase 4.8% and reach $370 billion by the first quarter of next year as homeowners take on larger discretionary renovations deferred during the pandemic.
The Index in April came in at 121.7, up from 109 in March, which marked a significant rise from the 90.4 index in February.
The Railway Tie Association forecast 2.7% growth in 2021% and 3.6% in 2022 for crossties, primarily driven by the commercial market while Class I volumes are seeing holding at similar year-over-year levels.
[Technical Issues] raw material availability is slightly constricted according to the RTA, but their view for the next six months to 12 months is ideal, which is probably a little more optimistic than our view at this moment.
Total US carload traffic decreased 2.6% year-over-year, while intermodal units increased 3.2%.
Combined, year-over-year, the US traffic was up by 5.6%.
In the backlog, the railroad structures project this year is 50% higher than a year ago, pointing to increases in profitability from a full pipeline of incoming work.
According to IHS Markit automotive group, light vehicle production is projected to grow about 14% in 2021, globally, with US production expected to increase 24%.
Pulling everything together, on Slide 37, our sales forecast for 2021 remains in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, compared with $1.637 billion in the prior year.
On Slide 38, we're increasing our EBITDA projections for 2021 to a range of $220 million to $230 million compared with $211 million in the prior year.
The EBITDA estimate translates to an increase in our adjusted earnings per share guidance, which is seen on Slide 39, and is now $4.35 to $4.60 per share, compared to the prior guidance of $4 to $4.25 per share, and prior-year adjusted earnings per share of $4.12.
Finally, on Slide 40, our capital expenditures were $24.2 million in the first quarter or $19.5 million net of $4.7 million in cash proceeds from asset sales.
We remain on track to spend a net amount of $80 million to $90 million on capital expenditures this year with half of that dedicated to growth and productivity projects that are expected to generate $8 million to $12 million of annualized benefits.
Beyond 2021, I remain excited about the many opportunities that we have to further build upon our integrated business model, focused on wood and infrastructure, and look forward to sharing the details of how we believe we can take Koppers to over $300 million of EBITDA generation by the end of 2025 at our upcoming September 13 Investor Day.

Summary:
Pulling everything together, on Slide 37, our sales forecast for 2021 remains in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, compared with $1.637 billion in the prior year.
On Slide 38, we're increasing our EBITDA projections for 2021 to a range of $220 million to $230 million compared with $211 million in the prior year.