Episode 73: Rail opportunities and Northeast aggregate demand

As aggregate producers look for more efficient ways to move material to growing demand centers, rail transportation is emerging as an increasingly important part of the conversation. In Episode 73 of Drilling Deeper, hosts Kevin Yanik and Jack Kopanski explore developments in rail transportation, equipment demand and construction activity shaping the aggregates industry.

Matthew Tonn, chief commercial officer at FreightCar America, joins the show to discuss the opportunities rail presents for aggregate producers. Tonn examines the factors driving interest in rail, including expanding mines and the challenge of transporting material to demand centers. He also details the state of the freight railcar market, where aging equipment is creating significant replacement demand and newer materials are helping extend railcar life.

Later in the show, Zach Manz of Contractor Sales and Baschmann Services offers a view from the Northeast, where demand for crushing and screening equipment remains strong. Manz discusses customers’ growing use of long-term rentals, including rentals that ultimately convert to equipment purchases. And he shares how Baschmann’s longstanding relationship with Anaconda Equipment continues to evolve.

Additionally, Manz explores one of the emerging forces behind aggregate demand: construction projects tied to AI. With AI-related development requiring significant quantities of construction materials, producers and equipment suppliers are seeing new opportunities.

Plus, Yanik and Kopanski discuss the industry’s second-quarter results while previewing the next episode of Drilling Deeper.

For 108 years, Pit & Quarry magazine has been the premier monthly aggregate processing information source. Through multiple platforms, we deliver the very latest in equipment and technology news and information that is critical for safely achieving the highest level of efficiency and profitability. Editors Kevin Yanik and Jack Kopanski cover the market in print, online and through e-newsletters. As respected industry insiders, they moderate the annual Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference and speak at industry conferences and meetings.
 
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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:07

Welcome back in to another episode of Drilling Deeper. Today we're taking a closer look at two areas of the aggregates industry that are evolving in interesting ways. We'll discuss rail transportation and what it could mean for producers as they work to move material more efficiently to growing demand centers. Then we'll shift our focus to the Northeast, where we'll hear about equipment demand, long-term rental trends, and how AI-related construction projects are helping fuel activity in the region. We have a pair of great guest interviews ahead today. But first, a word from our episode sponsor.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

For producers who can't afford downtime, Kemper designs, builds, and supports complete crushing, screening, conveying, and wash systems from the pit to the pile. With in-house engineering, custom solutions, and dependable parts and service, Kemper keeps your plant moving material safely and efficiently. Learn more at KemperSolutions.com or call 610-273-2066.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

Thanks again to Kemper for sponsoring today's show. With that, let's welcome in Jack Ipansky, Pitt and Quarry's managing editor and co-host of Drilling Deeper. Jack, what's going on today?

SPEAKER_03 1:11

How's it going, Kevin? Great to be here. Beautiful day here in downtown Cleveland. Excited to be here chatting with you. Got uh, like you said, a couple great interviews. Looking forward to uh diving in and sharing sharing some great insights with the people as always.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

Yeah, I was hunting around before the show. We've obvious obviously done a bunch of interviews this summer. You were at Anacona Equipments Open Day, their inaugural open day. And at the Pitt and Quarry roundtable, we sat down with with a ton of people producers, equipment manufacturers, dealers, and others, industry leaders, just about what's what's happening out there. So we're just trying to continue to push out a lot of our evergreen content. And and today we've got a couple of unrelated topics. You know, we're gonna talk about rail and the rail industry as it's related to aggregates. We've got Matthew Tunn of Freight Car America with us on the front end here. He's our first guest we're gonna feature here in a bit. And then later on, Jack, you had the chance to visit when you went up to, I think it was Elma, New York, with Zach Manns of Contractor Services, which is the parent company of Boschman Services. So um so a little bit of a different twist with those two interviews kind of coming together on the show, but but nonetheless, all relates to aggregates, both topics central to the health of the industry and and how we're doing things in terms of efficiencies and and other gains. So um, but first maybe let's kind of tee up our first interview with with Matthew Tunn. Matthew's the chief commercial officer at Freight Car America. They're a manufacturer of freight rail cars, and I found the conversation with Matthew to be fascinating because aggregates and the cost of them is so much related to freight. And I think we've mentioned it on the show probably countless times. I mean, we talk about aggregate pricing a lot, and I mean so much of that. I mean, your margin's gonna be so much more if you're if you're moving that material that much more efficiently. You know, that's not the only piece of the equation, but it's a big part of it, and it has historically. Um and there have been some interesting developments of late, Jack, taking place with aggregate operations, kind of moving away from the demand centers, from the metro areas, kind of getting out into more rural and remote spots, and it really kind of creates this new opportunity or renewed opportunity, you could argue, to get more rail in there. And Matthew, we'll talk a little bit about the dynamics with with that as it relates to pits and quarries in the industry. And we're going to talk a little bit too about about rail cars. And I know we've published some reports, some data from the one of the rail car associations periodically, and and they always have some interesting data, but but he had some interesting insights and and rules and regulations that I wasn't really fully aware of that are kind of coming into play with with the rail industry. But but Jack, before we play the interview, I know you're you know kind of keeping tabs too in terms of what's evolving on the on the transportation front. It's very much truck related, but yeah, um uh barge and and rail are are the other keys too. And you know, rail's been has a long history in this country, and it seems like it might may have a resurgence before not too long.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

Yeah, absolutely. Like like you said, I I I think at least for me, barge and truck is kind of where I where my mind immediately goes when it comes to um shipping aggregate, and obviously rail does play a big part, but at least for me, that's you know, that's not necessarily the first spot my mind goes, even as much as I love trains as a kid. Shout out Thomas the Tank engine. But yeah, it it really is an interesting conversation because it is like you said, it does so much of the cost of aggregate is tied in with that. And I remember on a site visit I went on last year, part of their quarry or part of their operation, uh uh a rail line ran through it. So, you know, it's certainly um I I certainly do hope there is a resurgence. Uh it's you know, obviously a very efficient, very, you know, productive way to be moving aggregates. And honestly, the more ways operations can, you know, increase their profit margin and and keep operating effectively, the the better. So um yeah, a lot of good insights here from from Matthew. Um very excited to to to share all that.

SPEAKER_04 4:55

Well, we're gonna again we're gonna play our our video interview with Matthew Tun here first today. And Jackson come back on the other side with me. We'll offer a few thoughts before we formally introduce Zach Manns, our second guest today. But but let's hear a little bit about what's transpiring these days in the rail space from Matthew Tunn of Freight Car America. Matthew, great to see you, great to meet you. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 5:15

I'm doing great. Thanks uh so much for having me out today. Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Yeah, appreciate you being here with us. You know, we're talking about kind of the state of the aggregates industry. I mean, you've got kind of a unique niche place in that industry. Obviously, you're working in the rail car space, the rail space, so it the rail niche of aggregates is so much a part of it, and it's it's a growing one. Yeah, I guess I wonder, you know, maybe rather than ask you for a state of the aggregates industry report, maybe you can kind of tell us what's happening with rail, because so many of our listeners out there are hauling on rail or they have the potential to. So I guess what's what's happening out there?

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Yeah, uh a lot's going on in the rail industry right now, and I'm sure many of the folks that listen to this will uh be aware of the uh the pending or I should say potential merger between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific that's got many customers um watching the status of that. Uh we'll see how that all unfolds and if it makes an improvement in in total um service uh for for the the shipper community. I would say overall uh rail continues to be an excellent uh method of shipping uh particularly bulk commodities, uh including aggregates. Um it's a very efficient, um cost-effective way versus trucking, so it's a it's a great opportunity for shippers to really maximize efficiencies. Uh and certainly rail provides uh probably close to a 3x efficiency gain versus trucking. So mining uh operations that have rail access can really benefit from it. Overall, um all the reports that you get from uh the Association of American Railroads uh and other reporting agencies show that um in terms of performance, velocity of rail cars and shipment times are coming down, velocity is up, which is a good thing for rail deliveries. Um railroads are seeing an improvement uh in service metrics overall, uh, which I think is really a good thing for the shipper community too. They're getting their materials faster, lead times are are shorter uh between uh origin and destination. And those types of things are I think are good for for the industry.

SPEAKER_04 7:15

Matthew, I wonder if you could almost offer uh like a historical perspective. I don't know how long you've been with Freight Car America or in the rail industry, but but what's what's the trend been, I guess, in terms of transport? Because when I I think about transportation of aggregates, you know, it's it's rail, it's truck, it's barge. Maybe there's something I'm forgetting, but that's the bulk of it. But uh I guess how how has rail fit into that that overall conversation over the years and and I guess where is it today, you know, as a leader, as an option. You talked about the efficiency three times. So obviously there's opportunity there, but but can you offer a little historical perspective for our listeners?

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Yeah, I uh over over uh over time uh rail has gained in in terms of total shipments. Um uh barge is obviously a big a big player, trucking continues a big big player, and it really comes down to cost, right? How uh when you think about uh the cost of transportation, which oftentimes uh for aggregates can be a significant portion per ton, um how you do that efficiently uh to get the product to destination has been been really key. And I think you're seeing more and more rail. Uh the specifics of that I I can't speak to. Um if you look at overall car loadings uh from 2024 to 2025, and you look at sorry for the pun, but in the aggregate of uh coal, rock, sand, um, the loadings are pretty flat year over year. There are uh indications that as um uh as we get into 27, you'll start to see a marketed increase of about 5% in terms of total car loadings. And I think that's that speaks well for the aggregate business because coal will continue its cyclical decline, right? Uh and that's being offset by by the aggregate market, by additional um car loadings of aggregates uh for infrastructure programs.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

You mentioned before we started the interview here a little bit, Matthew, about 150 million tons, I think, on average per year. That's what's what's transported by rail in terms of aggregates, and you know, that's a good good percentage. I think you said 1.5 billion, and that sounds about right. I know I'm looking at a lot of the U.S. geological statistics on uh crush stone, sand, and gravel, and you know, that's that's sizable, but it seems like there's there's more opportunity potentially there. And you know, we were talking too offline just about the idea of you know aggregate operations in the metro areas. I mean, those are the demand centers where the materials need to be and where rail and and other forms of transport need to get those materials too, but but permitting and zoning or pushing out those operations farther from the area. So in my mind, I'm I always think it seems like rail ra rail's future could be taking off again. I mean, rail has been a part of our American history for so long, but it seems like there's there's new opportunity there because some of the obstacles that that operations are facing just to get get greenfields and new sites going. So I I guess I wonder what the what the future holds um in terms of growth and because the transports are potentially getting longer, is rail becoming a more viable option for for producers out there?

SPEAKER_02 10:02

I think it is. I think we're in an environment in a in an uh with the current administration that is less regulatory focused uh and looking to lift more regulations and and improve, or I should say, reduce the amount of time for permitting. I will tell you that uh over the course of the last 24 months, we've seen new customers enter the marketplace for rail cars. I think part of that is uh as a component of railroads not supporting with the rail cars needed as those cars age out. The shipper community or lessors that are involved in leasing um rail cars will provide that asset for shippers. But we are having uh active conversations with multiple mines that are expanding uh and getting additional permits. And as a result, we've seen an increase in demand and in our overall pipeline of uh rail car uh needs. Sure. Both in the conventional um gondola uh as well as the uh open top hoppers.

SPEAKER_04 10:59

We talked about rail car efficiency a little bit too, just the idea of making the most of the rail cars you have. And you mentioned that there's opportunities to to do more with them in terms of you know maintenance, I suppose, or just to maximize efficiency. So I guess what what's lacking out out there right now? I mean, if you're educating and talking talking to those out there who who are running running uh rail cars, what do they need to know? Like what's the missing ingredient that's gonna get them more life out of those cars?

SPEAKER_02 11:23

A couple things. One is um we're seeing some of the older cars that were primarily manufactured from steel starting to die out, I guess. Um the mandated age of a of a rail car asset is 50 years. At 50 years, the car has to be retired. Um a lot of cars don't see that lifespan because the materials that were used to build them in the late 70s, early 80s weren't up to the same standards as today. Various steels have additional copper content. Um we've spent a lot of time ourselves on investigating um different um chemical uh compounds um and the the overall chemistry of materials coming out of the ground and how those impact steel, stainless aluminum. And as a result, we have hybrid designs that protect the cars to last a lot longer. So I think what you're seeing is older cars starting to age out as a result of um the materials that were used really weren't up to the standards they needed to be. And today's cars that utilize uh much more corrosion resistant materials, materials that reduce metal loss of your your structure, are starting to really gain momentum and and uh demand.

SPEAKER_04 12:33

Matthew, within the aggregates industry, we talk a lot about how our infrastructure nationwide is kind of aging, roads, bridges, and and highways are just you know not in the greatest shape. They're deteriorating and they need investment. I wonder too, you know, with with rail cars, just because of the long history, again, in the US of of rail uh use, uh are we kind of at a at a moment too where so much so many fleets, so many cars are are kind of coming up on on their end and that there's need to see more investments coming?

SPEAKER_02 12:59

We've seen that over the course of the last four years. Uh and I think the uh Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act clearly made a big impact on that. Uh and we've seen really in the last two years significant increases in demand as we've seen all of our roads through whatever major city you live in, there's construction projects going on that are major uh as as uh that funding has been put to put to use. Uh all of that is driving some significant demand.

SPEAKER_04 13:26

When you talk to your customers, at least in the aggregates industry, what what are they saying these days about their their ability or the demand environment? Do you have a sense of that? I mean you talked about 2027, you know, maybe there being potential uptick in activity, but but do you have a sense of maybe what the rest of 2026 looks like for for freight car and ultimately how aggregates and I suppose other industries that you guys are serving play into that?

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yeah, anecdotally, I with some customers it's new business, new um uh increases in um their mining capabilities or additional mines they're adding to their portfolio. Um but I would say overall that it's probably 70% of uh the demand is driven by uh replacement of older fleet and 30% uh driven by new business. And that's very customer specific. And again, I'll say it's anecdotal. Um, but just based on the conversations we have about what's the drivers behind the demand, it's a combination of of replacing existing cars that are aging out and then new business that they're building or that they're growing.

SPEAKER_04 14:25

Sure. I I know the rail industry is such a great thing, and then in the confines of of aggregates, it's it's even smaller, I suppose. But but I wonder, you know, somebody's looking at a greenfield out there in the US or Canada or elsewhere, and and uh they're assessing whether they should should get rail in. Is is there a rail opportunity there? I mean, are you part of that conversation ever? Or does anyone ever lean on your expertise to kind of evaluate the best path forward?

SPEAKER_02 14:50

No, not specifically, because that is something that would be driven by the railroads themselves. My advice would be that that shippers would take into account the need to have multiple routes of um of access, right? So multiple railroads coming into your property so that you always have options. Sure. Um I think that's probably the biggest conversation. But I would also say that railroads overall are typically very good about wanting to grow their industrial businesses uh and are very supportive about the different things that you need, whether it's switches, track, um, and support, even fleet, right? Um those things are very important to them as they grow their own business.

SPEAKER_04 15:28

Aaron Powell I guess what what else are you watching here? I mean, uh obviously we're we're talking about the pit and core universe, but but as it comes to to rail and and aggregates, I guess what else should people listening be keeping tabs on? What else are you gonna be watching as 2026 unfolds?

SPEAKER_02 15:41

You know, the the thing about aggregate is business, and um there's a lot of suppliers here that make a lot of heavy equipment for very a very rugged uh industry, right? It's a it's a it's a tough industry, and I think what's key is uh when you make considerations for assets that you're investing in to support your needs, that you really look through um the value of what you're getting versus just the cost, the upfront cost. Um you'd need uh, you know, in a in a rail car environment, uh a couple of things are really critical uh for a long-term investment, and that's corrosion resistance and metal loss. Um things that will will um provide you long-term usability, um, utility of that asset. And I think safety is also a really big component. Over the years, um there's been um a lot of work done on improving safety in terms of how cars are unloaded. Um and I think as a result of that, we we you know our our brand of car is called the Versaflood, and it allows you to uh to unload the V unload the rail car uh one pocket, two pocket, three pocket are all at the same time. So all of those things are important when we think about being away from the car and unloading versus manual door systems.

SPEAKER_04 16:52

Well Matthew, I appreciate you you getting together and sharing some insights from the field. It's great being here. Great to see ya. Thank you. Thanks much.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

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SPEAKER_04 17:51

Thanks again to Matthew Tunn of Freight Car America. Jack kind of a lot of lots of piece out of that. That one, and again, it was great to sit down with him this year at the Pit and Quarry Roundtable and conference. But um just some notes I kind of jotted as I kind of revisited that that sit down with with Matthew. But you know, we talked about the Norfolk, Southern, Union Pacific merger. And we we talked frequently at the magazine at Pitt and Quarry about MA. And we did a couple episodes ago when we talked about Martin Marietta and CRH and their big deals, you know, getting into the the billion dollar, even double-digit billion dollar territory and you know, the dollar figures that Matthew was throwing around and that I kind of researched offhand in terms of that North Norfolk, Southern Union Pacific merger, they're just kind of astounding. Um there's a lot of legwork that has to be done there on the regulatory front, but the estimated value there is about $85 billion. Wow. I mean, and some of the biggest deals we've seen in you know, aggregates or construction materials, you know, with some of the top 100 producers. You know, we're talking about about 10, 11, 12 million, 12 billion dollar territory. So this particular rail transportation-related deal, that's about eight times that, which is kind of crazy. And you know, the market cap of those two companies is 250 billion. Um, but we'll see if that deal gets to the finish line 2027's what it looks like it's going to be, and that'll have some some implications for for shippers and and aggregate producers once uh once that comes to be. Um and then we kind of talked about this at the top of the show, Jack, but just the idea of moving your your aggregates, moving materials a little bit more efficiently. I think I had asked Matthew point blank. I mean, is rail becoming a more viable method of of transporting aggregates? And and he says yes. I mean, obviously he's living in that space. He's he's a rail car manufacturer, so you know he obviously he he wants to you know push more rail cars out there, but but he made good arguments for rail cars for rail gaining momentum. Um we're seeing mines expand. You know, I mentioned at the beginning of the show just that that challenge, uh the permitting, the zoning, the getting aggregate reserves up and running. I mean, it's it's not easy. Um we need those materials to be to the demand centers, but nobody wants the pit or quarter in their backyard. So that kind of means that these sites, these operations are moving farther and farther out. And, you know, do you really want to truck rock 100 miles? I mean, I feel like these days I'm hearing more anecdotes, more sentiments from from producers who are saying that, yeah, they're they're trucking materials farther, but but there's a breaking point there where you have to look at alternate sources and and rails kind of that.

SPEAKER_03 20:28

Yeah, no, and and I think you hit the nail on the head there. And I think that I've I've heard a lot of similar things. And again, going back to some business I had last summer, you know, we were I was asking, you know, how do you guys typically, you know, do you do you utilize rail? And they and the the uh the operation I spoke with said that they mainly truck, and they said pretty much to a T what you said. They're like they said we can go so far out, they're you know, looking to invest in rail. They they do also do some barging because they're right on the Mississippi, I should note. But um, you know, they mentioned that they're looking to get into rail to be able to expand that that distance in which they're able to ship and supply their aggregates. So um, yeah, and and and just really some uh again, some fascinating insights, some stuff that I wasn't even aware of that I didn't realize, you know, 50 years rail cars have to be retired. So, you know, it's kind of a kind of a an interesting uh uh parallel with what we're seeing in the aggregate industry, where you've got, you know, a lot of a lot of older, experienced guys that are retiring on their way out, gotta make room for some new folks, kind of the kind of the same thing going on with rail cars. But uh yeah, definitely just a a fascinating thing. I think it's definitely gonna make me um think about rail a lot more when it comes to the the industry transporting aggregates, sort of the the efficiencies it provides, obviously the benefits it provides with being able to cover greater distances and just sort of everything that that that goes into it. Um so yeah, definitely just uh just a fascinating fascinating look at and again a a facet of aggregates that I don't necessarily or doesn't always necessarily come to the top of my mind.

SPEAKER_04 21:56

Yeah, we don't talk about it, cover it a ton at the magazine, but it's certainly part of the entire Conversation as it relates to the aggregates industry. And again, really want to thank Matthew Tunn of Freight Car America for joining us. And and uh we've got our featured guest number two on tap here as well, Jack. We've got Zach Manns of Contractor Sales and Boschman Services. And this was an interview that that you did this summer up in New York State. And and tell us a little bit about what we're gonna hear from from Zach and who Zach is.

SPEAKER_03 22:25

Yeah, yeah. So uh I I had the opportunity to to again head up to Elma, New York, kind of in the Buffalo area um earlier this summer for the first U.S. open day that Anaconda equipment has held. They've had a couple in the UK before. This is the first one they had in the U.S. and they partnered with Boschman Services, which is their longest-running U.S. dealer. I believe it was their first dealer um in the U.S. Um so I got a chance to talk with some Anaconda folks, some McClanahan folks that were on hand, and I got a chance to, as you're gonna hear, sit down with uh Zach Manns, um runs uh contractor sales co, which is uh again, like Kevin mentioned earlier, the uh parent company of Boschman Services. Little information, little information about contractor sales, a heavy construction equipment distributor with manufacturer assigned territory in much of New York, Pennsylvania, and New England. Uh it supplies and services, all types of construction and mining equipment. Uh construction contractor sales offers quality, new and used heavy equipment for sale and rent from some of the top manufacturers in the end in the industry, all backed by a premier product support team. So a lot going on. Zach was a super cool guy to meet. Uh, you know, I he offered some some interesting insights as we go on later in the interview. And I've kind of talked this point to death, but but being a dealer, I really do believe that you know he and other dealers are in a very unique position because they they have their own perspective, they work with customers and users, and they also get that manufacturer perspective as well. So um, you know, we talk a little obviously about a little bit about the open day. Anaconda had their I-14R uh on display, their latest uh their latest mobile crushing plant. Um so we talked a little bit about that. We got into sort of the industry as a whole and a look ahead to the rest of this year and beyond. So um a lot of cool stuff in here. That was a fun visit. I appreciated uh Anaconda for having me out there, and it was great to meet everyone. So hope you guys hope you guys enjoy my conversation with Zach. Yeah, let's play that.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Zach, appreciate you making some time for me today. Absolutely glad to be here. It's a beautiful day out here in Elma, New York, and uh very glad to have everybody here for our open day.

SPEAKER_03 24:28

Yes, sir. Excited to be here. Obviously, an exciting event, got a lot of people out to you know, kind of see what Boschman and Anaconda have going on. Got the I-14R on display uh with the demo of the I-12R behind us. Um with Anaconda, you know, sort of wanting to get the I-14R, um, you know, showing it off latest latest crush in their line. What does it mean to Boschman to be able to be the place where they're showing it off? Have everybody come here, see what you guys are see what you guys are able to offer, and also learn a little bit more about the partnership you guys have.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

Sure, yeah. So we go back uh well over a decade with Anaconda. Um, and we're fortunate that the facility we have here in Elma, New York really allows us to bring in dealers, customers, and and uh some of our industry partners to be able to view and see these units uh in operation. Now, obviously the I-14 is a new unit for Anaconda, um, and we've had a long-standing relationship, so we generally like to help promote and uh and also have a little bit of uh inside intelligence to help develop the product. So it's nice to be able to have the first one here in the in the States uh so we can show it off here and actually make a little material with it. So overall, again, you know, our relationship just has continued to grow as has the line with Anaconda. We're extremely proud to be able to participate in these events with Anaconda and host it here in Alma.

SPEAKER_03 25:43

Yeah. You talk about that relationship. It's been a little over a decade. I know dating back to 2012 when when Boschman sort of became the I guess flagship US dealer for for Anaconda, if you will, the the the first in the country. Um what has that relationship been like? What have you experienced and and what's what what's kind of gotten it to where it is today?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Sure, yeah. The first two words that come to mind here are growth and relationship, right? Um starting off, obviously, uh Anaconda is they per proceeded from where they were as a uh as a manufacturer for some other brands to having their own brand and branding at Anaconda here in the United States, um, they've continued to grow. They've grown their product line, they've grown the number of units, they've grown their team, and now joining forces with McClenaghan several years ago, they've really grown that to the next level. Um you know, and in terms of the the product and the relationship, we've been able to work together uh to continue to do develop their team and you know what we need on our end and being a voice for the dealers as the relationship continues to grow. You know, the biggest thing, as we all know, is product support and being able to really make sure those units are stood behind. Um so we've worked hand in hand with Anaconda throughout the years just to really help uh everyone understand what our needs are, um, but also being a really good partner to understand that it's part of the growth phase and we're gonna get to the finish line, and then you're gonna create another finish line to continue to work towards. So it's uh like I said, it's it's growth and its relationship, and to be at the point where we are today with our relationship with Anaconda and McClanahan, um, I think is a testament to the hard work of a lot of those before me that uh really made this happen, and Alistair and the team at Anaconda and Sean and the team at McClanahan to get us to where we are today. And obviously the the I-14R here is a perfect representation of that growth and growing from you know some of the smaller screening units they've had now to really being a leader in in crushing and screening.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Absolutely. That's excellent. Obviously, the I-14R kind of the latest and greatest from Anaconda, sort of showcasing some of their some of their growth and development on their end. From from Boschman and contractor sales perspectives, how's this year been for you guys? You know, what what are you guys kind of seeing? And uh, you know, just how's how's 2026 treated you so far about halfway through the year?

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Yeah, so you know, up here in in the great state of New York, we uh we have some challenging weather as as everywhere in the country, but um, you know, we came out of a pretty cold winter, a real winter for once in a while. And uh we were you know expecting it to be a strong year. There's a ton of really good activity, a lot of big projects going on throughout the state. So we expected it to be a really good year, uh coming off of tremendous year in 2025, and it started off as such. Um, you know, the first two months of what we'll call our busy season, April and May here, um we've continued to excel from where we were in 25, and have seen a lot of our customers just continue to increase their demand for what their needs are. Um and I think that the the year is shaping up well. Usually when it starts off this way, um, you know, obviously Son's anything outside of our control. Uh we expect it to be a very solid year throughout. Um, on the crushing and screening side, you know, there's been a lot of good utilization on the units and a lot of excitement now with some of the new products coming out, the I-14, obviously. So uh we're we're excited about the year ahead. We feel that we got uh a lot of good uh opportunities and uh our customer base is you know obviously very loyal. We have an extremely good relationship throughout the state with our customers, and yeah, we look forward to being able to uh to have another successful 26 and um really make sure our customers have a great successful 2026.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Absolutely. You know, I feel like dealers are always in such an interesting spot in the industry where you kind of get, you know, you have your own perspective, you get to see from the manufacturer side, you get to see and hear things from the from the producer and contractor side. So given all that, kind of maybe taking uh a broader look, industry as a whole, what have you what have you been seeing or hearing um from the Boschman side, from the contractor sales side, just sort of what the what's sort of the temperature of the industry is a as a whole right now that you're seeing?

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Sure, yeah, and we'll start off on the the crushing and screening specifically here. Um we see a lot of of utilization and customers looking to accomplish projects, uh utilizing our equipment and not not so much necessarily going out and buying a brand new uh you know $1.2 million unit. So um we've seen a lot of really great long-term rental utilization, and then those are really converting over to a lot of the sale opportunities. You know, throughout the country, throughout the United States, right? Um, and a kind of being an international distributor, but specifying here in the states, you know, the markets vary so tremendously, right? It's uh a lot of the federal and and state money are being allocated toward various AI we'd like to as a you know, the hot topic of of today is AI, right? Um so projects related to that in some capacity. And uh obviously with that comes a lot of need for material and and the producers have been busy. Um again, you know what we we obviously hear throughout the the the country on the industry level, but specifically here in the northeast region, it's uh the demand is is high. Um and you know, materials producers are are not they're not quiet right now, they're very busy, and again, that's a really good place to be uh for the beginning of June.

SPEAKER_03 30:45

Yeah, 100%. Zach, thanks so much for your time. Thank you very much. Appreciate your insights. Best of luck to contractor sales and Boschman the rest of the year and beyond. Excellent. We appreciate that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Well, that was Zach Manns of Contractor Sales and Boschman Services visiting with Jack. Jack, appreciate you bringing that that uh audio and video back for our listening audience here today. And and yeah, like you said at the start there, before we played it, a lot of a lot of ground you guys kind of hit on in um in about seven, eight minutes of that. But uh I kind of grabbed on to what he was kind of sharing in terms of the market, what's transpiring out there, and he talked about crushing and screening a little bit in terms of the ways that contractors and their customers are kind of going about acquiring equipment. And he's seeing a lot of customers look to accomplish projects using long-term rentals that are being converted over to sales. So it seems like that's healthy for them right now. And it seemed like you know, they had kind of an interesting first, you know, start to the year. It got a little bit busy in April, May. Um, but seems like good things ahead up in up in the northeast.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Yeah, absolutely. Um once again, just want to say I appreciate Zach making a little time for me at the event uh to to chat. Um yeah, it it's just a it's a cool opportunity. I always love talking to or being able to talk to sort of a manufacturer and a dealer, get get kind of both sides of the of the relationship, got to speak with uh Aleister Forsyth with Anaconda, and then obviously Zach here, and it was it was unique to to hear and and and you know maybe this is more common than than I'm aware of, but one thing that you know, at least thinking back to what Aleister said, I can't remember if it was mentioned in this interview, but you know, they Anaconda really went out and sought out insight from its dealer network for some RD on the I-14R. So, you know, as much as obviously Anaconda played a huge role in making this plant what it is, Boschman Services and Anaconda's others deal other dealers were able to um you know sort of have some insight and some RD in that as well, which is very interesting. And it just sounds like they have a great working relationship, which obviously, you know, you you love to have with your dealer. And yeah, you mentioned just kind of some of the some of what Boschman's services and contractor sales were going through, you know, with sort of the the interesting starts of the year with the cold weather up in New York, and you know, it still even with that has played out to be a really strong year so far. They've got a strong customer base in the areas they serve. And um, yeah, kind of like you, kind of like you hit on with the with the demand that they're seeing for longer term rentals, you know, that's that's something that I know at least when I came on in 2021, that was something that was uh really prevalent around that time for maybe you know a a year or two after I started that p that with prices being so high and you know the lead times on everything were so out of whack coming out of COVID and everything that rentals were you know really prioritized, I think, throughout the industry. And for a while, I at least from you know what what I had been hearing, it seemed kind of got away from that a little bit. So sort of hearing this pickup in rentals again is is just an interesting transition, you know, again with prices getting so high and inflation being what it is, I think that definitely makes a lot of sense. And um just uh I think another interesting trend that that we'll have to follow going forward. But yeah, just thanks again to uh to Zach Mance, contractor sales, Boschman Services, Anaconda, everyone involved for uh for making this interview and that visit happen.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

And you mentioned Alistair Forsyth of of Anaconda. I know you did a video interview with him up in in New York State as well, Jack. And some of that interview, I think, may already be out on pit and quarry.com and our sister site portableplants.com. I know I pulled some of the the content you captured with Alistair up there. We're gonna run that in Pit and Quarry September edition, so you can see some of our interview or some of Jack's interview with Alistair in Pit and Quarry September. And and Jack, I know Portable Plants as well. You're gonna have some some additional coverage from that open day in Portable Plant September edition.

SPEAKER_03 34:25

Yep, absolutely. You can find you can find sort of a look at the the open day itself as well as uh some more in-depth information about the I-14R. Really, really cool new piece of equipment. Uh got to see it in action out there in Alma and uh really excited for Anaconda to continue, you know, sort of marketing this and and um seeing it, seeing it s succeed out at uh at a different operations in the wild.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

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SPEAKER_04 35:31

So even by then, I think majority will be out. And we've got those recaps on pit and quarry.com. We'll have additional content and reflections on what's kind of happening out there or what did happen in the second quarter in Pit and Quarry September edition as well. But but all in all, Jack, it seems like things are still pretty good out there, strong, even you you could say, based on and what the producers are putting out there. You know, the revenues are are climbing, the pricing is climbing, and that's what's really helping the revenues go up. Although at the same time, I think I'm looking, I'm seeing that shipments are are up. Um I guess the maybe the one thing it seems like maybe margins are a little bit tighter now here in the second quarter. But all in all, it seems like people are busy, people are are seeing their you know their revenues go up. Um and we continue to hear the narrative about you know cost control, cost management, those sorts of things in in order to be a little bit more profitable. So I don't think that is going to stop being the case here for the aggregate producing companies, whether you're public, private, something in between, um in the months and even the next year or two to come. But but uh yeah, great to see those come out. Really that's kind of the representative of the the midpoint here for the year in the industry, and and seems like all systems are still go. I wasn't really seeing any any right red flags, so to speak.

SPEAKER_03 36:50

No, no, yeah, it definitely definitely a lot of positivity coming out of there. You know, I know we as we kind of touched on with the Zach Manns interview, you you had, you know, maybe some, you know, I maybe I guess sort of the mom and pops or the or or even the national guys with some operations in the Midwest that may have been a little bit affected by that, you know, the uh the amount of snow we got or the or the weather we had earlier this year. But you know, this is sort of I think the second, I I think maybe the second straight quarter that I'm so glad to not hear the words unseasonably wet weather. I feel like for for like two years straight, that was all we heard when companies were talking about, you know, why shipments were down or why volume was down or whatever the case was or why just production in general was down. Um so but yeah, just broad broad scope too. Again, you know, certainly certainly some points here and there that that you know maybe are down a little bit, but you know, uh given given everything that's going on, you know, in the world and the industry right now, a lot of positivity and certainly certainly hopeful that that continues the rest of this year and beyond.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

The MA activity continues to be strong. Next next episode, we're gonna drop it on August 25th. We're gonna be solely really focused on on mergers and acquisitions and and what's been happening here in 2026, is we're gonna have FMI Capital Advisors Rob Minio on the show. Rob was one of our guests along with George Redden, gosh, probably 30 or 40 episodes ago, Jack. Maybe it must have been a year or two ago. And now we had Rob's colleague George Redden on the show coming out of the round table, so that must have been an episode back in April, just kind of talking about all things related to the construction materials industry. But but with CRH Martin Marietta making some mega deals of late, we wanted to sit down and kind of get a better understanding of where we are as an industry on the MA front. And Rob Minio is an ideal person to assess what's what's happening out there. So I'm looking forward to sitting down with him here in the coming days, and we'll we'll drop that that interview with Rob in episode 74. I guess it will be Jack. So um so something to keep an eye on for the next couple weeks. And again, I want to thank our guests today, Zach Manns and Matthew Tunn, Zach of Boschman Services, Matthew of Freight Car America. And and Jack, any parting thoughts before we shut it down here?

SPEAKER_03 39:00

No, just pleasure as always getting in here, chatting it up with you, and uh thanks again to our guests.

SPEAKER_04 39:05

See ya.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

See ya.