Metal Monday September 27, 2021 with Nick Snyder and Brett Ekart.
Play the youtube video and follow along with the text below.
Nick Snyder:
All right. Last, last Metal Monday of September.
Brett Ekart:
Last one of September.
Nick Snyder:
Yup, [crosstalk 00:00:14] we got October rolling in. I'm in a lot of those group chats with a bunch of scrap yards throughout the nation. It's kind of all over the place. What people are saying about iron. Some people are saying I've heard sideways on shred. I've heard up ten on shred. This is nationwide.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
So, we'll see what happens I've heard down.
Brett Ekart:
Every region's different.
Nick Snyder:
I've heard down 30 on primes. So it's kind of what I'm hearing. I don't know if you're anything, any chatter.
Brett Ekart:
Dude, I don't know. I'm not as a part of as many of those boards as you are.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah.
Brett Ekart:
So you probably have a feel for like the nation as a whole.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Whereas I'm probably more concentrated on just like.
Nick Snyder:
Just here, yup.
Brett Ekart:
Who I'm selling to.
Nick Snyder:
Because usually.
Brett Ekart:
Getting their vibe as far as what it's looking like.
Nick Snyder:
They're usually fairly accurate. Like the chatter.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah, yeah.
Nick Snyder:
Not always, sometimes it takes like a sharp left.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah. There's always something to be said for that. And I think that on my end, I haven't heard anything big up or down, which lends me to believe it's maybe like a soft sideways.
Nick Snyder:
I think it's sideways. I think everyone would be happy, but I haven't.
Brett Ekart:
But I haven't heard anything to be honest with you. And it's still, I mean, what is it?, September 27?
Nick Snyder:
We got to.
Brett Ekart:
We have all this week and then.
Nick Snyder:
We'll find out middle next week, probably.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah, maybe. But it feels, I think we're going to end the year fairly strong.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
From what I'm hearing. I feel like we're, even if we see a little softness in October, I think November, December, could be really good.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
So.
Nick Snyder:
And that's what one person said in there too.
Brett Ekart:
Okay.
Nick Snyder:
They're hearing in November, December is like some very strong months.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah. So I don't, I don't feel like it's important to oversell anything because what I think is going on right now, and we've kind of mentioned it before is, it's just a logistics fucking nightmare out there.
Nick Snyder:
Yup.
Brett Ekart:
For lack of a better way.
Nick Snyder:
Yup.
Brett Ekart:
Of saying it. Trucking, rail freight, the iron is somewhat available maybe? But the logistics isn't.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah.
Brett Ekart:
And you can have as much as you want on the ground, but if you, you can't get it to its destination, it doesn't do you lick a good and I feel like logistics right now. If you have a good handle on the movement.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Of your material, then you got an advantage over other people, and it's, limited trucking. Limited due COVID due to.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Just amount of trucks compared to, that's a supply demand game. I've heard there's been some issues on, gondolas, and rails, trying to get those cars.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
To get to the mills. So I'm thankful every day that we have such a good team of truck drivers and operators. From the Jim Combs of the world to Barry Prescott.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
The guys that are like really dialing in our, long haul stuff. And then obviously, just our internal dispatch system of the Boxtons of the world, yourself.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
The guys down in East Idaho. My God, they're just that whole deal is so crucial, the logistics right now.
Nick Snyder:
And it just all boils down to communication. It's really that you got to communicate, you got to call each other. You got to email, got to text each other and you got to be honest with each other on what's realistic.
Brett Ekart:
If you can't communicate internally, what makes you think you're going to be able to communicate externally?
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Like it all starts inside your own company.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
And if you can communicate within your own company to each other, about realistic expectations, you at least stand a fighting chance in this crazy environment we are right now. But if your salespeople are out there writing checks that they can't cash because they're being told that they can cash them.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
In reality they can't, from a logistic standpoint being able to handle them. Then you're going to be in a world of hurt.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah. That's where I appreciate Sal, Jim, every one ,I said, "Hey, just let me know. Can we get to this job?"
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
And sometimes they give me an answer. I don't want to hear they're like, "No." And I'm like "Are you sure?" They're like "Yes, no." I'm like, all right. So I'm that like I can handle that.
Brett Ekart:
And that's the other thing, they have to be able to say no, right?
Nick Snyder:
Yeah, say no. And I'm like, all right, let me make a phone call.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
It's not always like the best phone call, but it's the truth.
Brett Ekart:
Your internal guys have to have the strength to say no. Not just say yes, because that's what you want to hear.
Nick Snyder:
Yup.
Brett Ekart:
Knowing that they'll never be able to get.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah. So I need the truth because if it can't happen, it can't happen. And a shout out to Bryce for bringing Pinky over to the tow show this weekend.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah. That was a good event. Huh?
Nick Snyder:
Yeah. Awesome event. Shout out to everyone at the tow show. Showing up, putting it together that things built in that's really our second one. The actual second one was during COVID. So it got shut down. We threw something together, but this is truly like our second one, and they've done a great job building it. I just have really, really high hopes that things going to keep growing and growing and growing.
Nick Snyder:
And it's a great group of people and it's a great cause. Like I didn't realize what these tow truck drivers have to deal with. Every six days a tow truck driver gets killed on the side of the road. That's crazy.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
That's why they want to be treated like first responders and get some of those laws to protect them. And I'm all about it. And that makes me think more about it. Like I better get my truck over when I see blinking lights.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
I'm much more cautious and we're just trying to promote that to our community and it's been nice, a great relationship and I'm very fortunate that they let us and myself and United Metals be a part of it.
Brett Ekart:
What do you think about like recycled Idaho, right? We kind of hang our hats on supporting our local.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Industry, right? And a big segment of our customer base is to towing companies.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah.
Brett Ekart:
Not only just from the scrap end, but from the scrap that they're generating, but we use towing companies to help pick up other customers of ours material.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
We, a lot of towing customer customers, a lot of towing companies are our customers for converters.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Stuff like that. So it's a industry that, that feeds us. So it's in our best interest. And it's something that we enjoy doing because we have good relationships.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Is to support the towing industry. And that's what, we talk about Recycled Idaho and, our goal is to get a Recycled Oregon, a Recycled Washington.
Nick Snyder:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brett Ekart:
Recycled California, and get somebody out there. One company that is interested in doing this on a weekly basis to support their industries and their state that are on the recycling end.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah.
Brett Ekart:
Stuff that maybe goes kind of unnoticed. But towing companies are a big part of the recycling industry, on the scrap end for sure.
Nick Snyder:
Absolutely. And like you said, and to tow our own stuff.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
Like when we need to tow our trucks that break down, when I need them to help with a customer because they got something weird. Like those towers can do, pick up all sorts of stuff. You'd be shocked.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
So I can call any one of the ones we deal with and they'll go get it done. And I have full trust because they care about their service as much as we do. So, that's where I feel confident to send them to our customer base.
Brett Ekart:
So scrap metal companies go support your local towing associations.
Nick Snyder:
Yup.
Brett Ekart:
Go support your local towers if you aren't already.
Nick Snyder:
Yep, absolutely. Anyway copper had a rough week, it rebounded.
Brett Ekart:
Yep.
Nick Snyder:
It's nice to see that thing flowing 4.30 again, 4.25-4.30. When it was getting kind of scary four under 4.10.
Brett Ekart:
We broke four.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah.
Brett Ekart:
Like for a minute.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah we did, huh?
Brett Ekart:
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Nick Snyder:
So it was getting a little scary, but it kind of rebounded and it was nice to see that those they're holding strong so far with this Monday, and we'll just keep watching.
Brett Ekart:
Nickels off. Aluminum's off a little bit.
Nick Snyder:
A little bit.
Brett Ekart:
But it's still super strong. Nickels like 8.55, 8.60 somewhere in there.
Nick Snyder:
Lead.
Brett Ekart:
BGM's are starting to kind of come back around.
Nick Snyder:
Yeah, yeah a little bit.
Brett Ekart:
They're starting to find a bottom, hopefully.
Nick Snyder:
Lead kind of got beat up.
Brett Ekart:
Yeah.
Nick Snyder:
Past few weeks, but you haven't really seen much of a rebound on that, but we'll see what happens so.
Brett Ekart:
Well maybe next week we'll have some, a little more information on the Ferris End.
Nick Snyder:
All right. Thank you everybody.
Brett Ekart:
Have a great day.