Bozeman Build Report #3

Howdy builders of the North, East, South, West, and of Montana. North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho we see you too!

Today we are strolling the halls of Kenyon Noble, researching MT construction industry economics, Florida concrete, browsing for some post Covid deals, and having attempting to have a good time. Enjoy the next few minutes of blue collar jargon with an emphasis on SW MT.

-Daniel Not your financial advisor or building contractor. I source everything from the Libraries of North Korea.

Happy Day Light Savings Time (Yesterday March 10th). Time for some longer evenings on the jobsite or more recreational time outside! Daylight Savings Time was initially implemented to conserve energy resources during WW1 with the Standard Time Act of 1918. Springing forward into the future March 1st 2023 the Sunshine Protection Act bill was introduced aiming to make daylight saving time the new standard permanent time.

118th Congress

Cold hard Steel (volatile commodities as of Friday 03/08)

• Gold is up 4.60% week over week trading at $2,169/troy oz

• Silver is up 5% week over week trading at $24.18/troy oz

• HRC Steel is up 10.25% week over week trading at $860/ton

• BTC is up 9.16% and ETH is up 14% week over week (in the case you make any raw materials transactions with crypto)

More Concrete Deltas

Man, I love talking to batch plant dispatch. The trick is to call when its raining, they will talk with you all afternoon. This week, I spoke with some ready mix operations in the South East US, here is a sample of their prices…

MT Labor Day Report - Construction

Construction employment grew the fastest among industries last year in response to the pandemic-related surge in housing demand, averaging 8.3% job growth in 2022. The construction industry added over 2,000 jobs in 2021 and 2022, more than doubling the industry’s pre-pandemic trend. Construction was one of only a few industries that picked up the pace of hiring in 2022, alongside financial activities and mining. The MT construction industry offers competitive industry wages, with an average annual wage of $65,000 in 2022. No wonder a bunch of contractors have came out of the woodworks since 2020.

2023 Montana Labor Day Report

MT 3 year % increase in home values by county

I found this chart super interesting. NW MT really getting hit hard by them West Coast transplants.

2023 Economic Profile for Gallatin & Park Counties

Post Covid Deals

Remember how people were fighting over paper towels, toys, and tools? I’m curious now (almost 4 years after the first “lockdown” hit - what items are being sold at a discount? Items that i’m keeping an eye on include:

• Dirt bikes and off road toys

• Campers

• Sprinter Vans

• Commercial Real Estate

• Bikes

• Please respond to this email with what’s missing!

Craigslist/Marketplace Find of the Week

This isn’t a post Covid deal but perhaps a DIY product produced during that Era. Interesting salvage use of a 4runner. It no longer runs but it packs!

Related to the 4 runner camper above, this Fall a semi cab sleeper was found mounted to someones racecar trailer setup near Livingston. Great use of salvage vehicles part 2, these guys are really onto something.

Local Trade Pulse

Are quality diesel mechanics hard to come by or am I just looking in all the wrong places. I had a friend recently go through 3 different mechanics to diagnose a problem, the third time was the charm. Speaking of three, thanks for reading the third edition of the Bozeman Build Report.

Ian Dodds runs a local concrete business and is diving headfirst into a trade workflow marketplace pilot project matching Bozeman work with qualified workers. Submit a job below and will try to fulfill it in house or pair you with a vetted contractor. Bozeman Operations

The Breakup Song - The Greg Kihn Band

This material is the best, there’s literally 100s of use cases for it.

Stay tuned - i’m in Mexico this week attempting a volcano climb and will have limited content development time furthermore, will do my best to get some high grade content with a Central American construction twist delivered next Monday.

-Daniel

Time to zip it up, have an awesome week ahead, feel free to reach out!