L B Foster Co (FSTR) 2010 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the second-quarter 2010 L.B. Foster earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. We will facilitate a question-and-answer session towards the end of the conference. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 2010 年第二季 L.B.福斯特財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。我們將在會議結束時安排問答環節。 （操作員說明）。謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製以供重播。

I will now turn the call over to your host for today, Mr. David Russo, Chief Financial Officer. Please proceed, sir.

現在我將把電話轉給今天的主持人，財務長 David Russo 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Nikita. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us for L.B. Foster Company's earnings conference call to review the Company's second-quarter 2010 operating results. My name is David Russo, and I am the Chief Financial Officer of L.B. Foster. Hosting the call today is Mr. Stan Hasselbusch, L.B. Foster's President and CEO.

謝謝你，尼基塔。早安，女士們，先生們。感謝您加入我們的 L.B.福斯特公司召開財報電話會議，審查該公司2010年第二季的營運表現。我叫 David Russo，是 L.B. 的財務長。促進。今天主持電話會議的是 Stan Hasselbusch, L.B. 先生。福斯特公司總裁兼執行長。

This morning, Stan will provide an overview of the Company's second-quarter performance, give an update on critical business issues and discuss market conditions. Afterward, I will review the earnings press release issued earlier this morning, and then we will open up the session for questions.

今天早上，史丹將概述公司第二季的業績，提供關鍵業務問題的最新情況並討論市場狀況。之後，我將回顧今天早上早些時候發布的收益新聞稿，然後我們將開始提問環節。

Means to access this conference call via webcast were disclosed in our earnings press release and were posted on the L.B. Foster Company website under the Investor Relations page. This webcast will be archived and available for seven days.

透過網路廣播參加本次電話會議的方式已在我們的收益新聞稿中披露，並發佈在 L.B.福斯特公司網站的投資者關係頁面下。此網路廣播將存檔並可使用 7 天。

Today's call includes forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to future events and expectations and include known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Future actual results may differ greatly from these statements and expectations that are expressed today.

今天的電話會議包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述和資訊。此類陳述與未來事件和預期相關，包括已知和未知的風險和不確定性。未來的實際結果可能與今天表達的這些陳述和期望有很大不同。

All participants are encouraged to refer to L.B. Foster's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, as well as to other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information about L.B. Foster. Additionally, while forward-looking statements will be made today, it is L.B. Foster Company's policy to not provide specific earnings guidance.

鼓勵所有參與者參考 L.B. Foster 提交的截至 2009 年 12 月 31 日止年度的 10-K 表格年度報告，以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的更多有關 L.B. Foster 的資訊的其他文件。促進。此外，雖然今天將發表前瞻性聲明，但 L.B.福斯特公司的政策並未提供具體的獲利指引。

With that, we will commence our discussion, and I will turn it over to Stan Hasselbusch.

接下來，我們將開始討論，我將把它交給斯坦·哈塞爾布施。

Good morning. Thank you, David, and thanks to all of you for attending our second-quarter 2010 earnings call and webcast. This morning, we announced results for the second quarter. Sales were $119.5 million, up 20% from the second quarter in 2009. Earnings for the quarter were $0.58 per diluted share, up 123% from $0.26 in the second quarter of last year.

早安.謝謝 David，也謝謝大家參加我們的 2010 年第二季財報電話會議和網路廣播。今天早上，我們公佈了第二季的業績。銷售額為 1.195 億美元，比 2009 年第二季度增長 20%。該季度稀釋後每股收益為 0.58 美元，比去年第二季度的 0.26 美元增長 123%。

Order entry in the quarter was $120.6 million, which is a 5% increase from last year's comparative quarter, and quarter-end backlog stood at a record high $207.2 million, 41% ahead of last year's quarter. Overall, it was a solid quarter across the board.

該季度的訂單量為 1.206 億美元，比去年同期增長 5%，季末積壓訂單達到創紀錄的 2.072 億美元，比去年同期增長 41%。總體而言，這是一個全面的季度。

Let's look at the product performance, and let's start this quarter with concrete, where both buildings and ties enjoyed healthy gains over last year. Total concrete ties produced in the quarter from our three facilities was up 45% as a result of increased consumption by the Union Pacific and because of a two-week downtime in 2009 in the second quarter at Grand Island due to noncompliant material issues. Our current year-end forecast is production of 800,000 ties in 2010, up approximately 30% from last year.

讓我們來看看產品性能，讓我們從本季的混凝土開始，建築和連接件都比去年取得了健康的成長。由於聯合太平洋公司消耗量的增加以及 2009 年第二季度格蘭德島因不合規材料問題而停工兩週，本季度我們三個工廠生產的混凝土枕木總量增長了 45%。我們目前的年終預測是 2010 年領帶產量為 80 萬條，比去年增長約 30%。

Precast buildings, the other side of our concrete business, is still benefiting from the federal funds being provided to the Federal Park System through the stimulus bill. Production in the quarter was up 31% over last year, and our backlog is 33% over last year.

預製建築是我們混凝土業務的另一面，仍然受益於透過刺激法案向聯邦公園系統提供的聯邦資金。本季的產量比去年增長了 31%，我們的積壓訂單比去年增長了 33%。

While we have been disappointed overall in the stimulus bill, we have been able to recognize benefits from the program. And while we've seen some degree of success from transit products, bridge products and new rail, the clear-cut winner has been precast buildings, particularly in light the poor financial situation of our cities and states, which have previously been our biggest customer for that product. At this point, all the funds in our markets related to the stimulus program have been committed and will be spent over the next year.

雖然我們總體上對刺激法案感到失望，但我們已經認識到該計劃的好處。雖然我們已經看到交通產品、橋樑產品和新鐵路取得了一定程度的成功，但明顯的贏家是預製建築，特別是考慮到我們的城市和州的財務狀況不佳，而這些城市和州以前是我們最大的客戶對於該產品。至此，我們市場上與刺激計劃相關的所有資金都已到位，並將在明年使用。

In our distribution businesses, despite facing year-over-year transaction price declines of over 20%, sales in both new rail and piling were up over 15% compared to the 2009 second quarter. Rail was up as a result of increased market share from 31% last year to 49% this year in our specific markets, and piling was up due to continuing shipment of the Army Corps of Engineers job in New Orleans.

在我們的分銷業務中，儘管交易價格比去年同期下降了 20% 以上，但新鐵路和樁的銷售額與 2009 年第二季度相比增長了 15% 以上。由於我們特定市場的市場份額從去年的 31% 增加到今年的 49%，鐵路運輸量有所增加，而由於新奧爾良陸軍工程兵部隊工作的繼續運輸，堆垛量也有所增加。

We also continue to see strong results in our bridge fabrication group. Revenues were up 27% in the quarter, but more importantly, bookings were strong at $12.2 million, with a resulting quarter-end backlog of $26.6 million, 60% ahead of last year. As we've mentioned in the past, we are very bullish in bridge over the next three to five years. A number of major projects are on the drawing board and the IDSI integration is working very well.

我們的橋樑製造團隊也持續取得強勁成果。該季度營收成長了 27%，但更重要的是，預訂量強勁，達到 1,220 萬美元，季末積壓訂單達到 2,660 萬美元，比去年增長 60%。正如我們過去提到的，我們非常看好未來三到五年的橋牌業務。許多重大專案都在醞釀中，IDSI 整合進展順利。

And to wrap up our discussion on the products, we had an excellent quarter in Tubular. Combined revenues for coated and threaded in the quarter were $7.6 million, up 49% from the second quarter in 2009.

為了結束我們對產品的討論，我們在 Tubular 度過了一個出色的季度。本季塗層和螺紋產品的總收入為 760 萬美元，比 2009 年第二季成長 49%。

I would like to touch briefly on a couple other topics, just give you an update on the successor to SAFETEA-LU, the nation's $287 billion transportation bill that expired last September. Congress has approved a stop-gap funding in this year's budget, but little has progressed on the new transportation bill, which is expected to be in the $500 billion range.

我想簡單談談其他幾個主題，只是向您介紹一下 SAFETEA-LU 的後續計劃的最新情況，SAFETEA-LU 是美國 2,870 億美元的交通法案，已於去年 9 月到期。國會已在今年的預算中批准了一項臨時撥款，但新的交通法案幾乎沒有任何進展，預計該法案的金額將在 5,000 億美元左右。

Finally -- and frankly, the major concern on the approval of this new bill is how it is going to be funded. As you will recall, the current gas tax was established in 1993 at a flat rate of $0.184 per gallon. There was no indexing for inflation. So as a result, funding levels have lagged considerably behind inflation over the last 17 years. This must be addressed in future legislation. With the upcoming elections and the prospect of additional tax ramifications looming from this bill, we do not see passage of a successor transportational bill happening until the second quarter of 2011.

最後，坦白說，批准這項新法案的主要問題是如何為其提供資金。您可能還記得，現行汽油稅於 1993 年制定，統一稅率為每加侖 0.184 美元。沒有通貨膨脹指數。因此，在過去 17 年裡，融資水準大大落後於通貨膨脹。這必須在未來的立法中得到解決。由於即將舉行的選舉以及該法案可能產生額外稅收影響的前景，我們預計後續交通法案要到 2011 年第二季才會獲得通過。

And regarding our announced merger with Portec, we continue to work very closely with the Department of Justice to furnish information for the antitrust review of the acquisition. We expect final comments from them within the next two to three weeks. Given that, we will not make any additional comments, nor will we take any questions related to this transaction this morning.

關於我們宣布與 Portec 的合併，我們將繼續與司法部密切合作，為收購的反壟斷審查提供資訊。我們預計他們會在接下來的兩到三週內給出最終評論。有鑑於此，今天上午我們不會發表任何額外評論，也不會回答與此交易相關的任何問題。

In conclusion of my prepared remarks, I would like to mention that this is L.B. Foster's Corporate Safety Awareness week. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all the dedicated employees throughout L.B. Foster Company who have worked so hard over the last decade to make safety such an integral part of our culture. Thanks to all of you.

在結束我準備好的演講時，我想提一下，我是 L.B.福斯特的企業安全意識週。我謹向 L.B. 的所有敬業員工致以誠摯的謝意。福斯特公司在過去十年中一直努力工作，使安全成為我們文化中不可或缺的一部分。感謝大家。

And now, over to David.

現在，交給大衛。

Thank you, Stan. As Stan mentioned, sales for the second quarter of 2010 were $119.5 million compared to $99.3 million in the prior year, a 20.3% increase. The sales increase was due to a 13.6% increase in Rail product sales, a 23.6% improvement in Construction product sales and a 49.2% increase in Tubular product sales compared to last year's second quarter.

謝謝你，斯坦。正如 Stan 所提到的，2010 年第二季的銷售額為 1.195 億美元，比前一年的 9,930 萬美元成長了 20.3%。銷售額成長的原因是與去年第二季相比，鐵路產品銷售額成長了 13.6%，建築產品銷售額成長了 23.6%，管材產品銷售額成長了 49.2%。

The increase in Rail sales was driven by rail distribution from our Allegheny Rail Products unit and concrete ties. After a weak first quarter, Rail distribution rebounded nicely, which drove the majority of the sales increase for the Rail segment in the second quarter. Our Transit Products business revenues were flat in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the prior year.

鐵路銷售的成長是由我們的阿勒格尼鐵路產品部門的鐵路分銷和混凝土枕木所推動的。在經歷了第一季的疲軟之後，鐵路分銷出現了良好的反彈，這推動了第二季鐵路部門銷售成長的大部分。 2010 年第二季我們的交通產品業務收入與前一年持平。

Our Grand Island and Tucson facilities were approximately 70% utilized for the Union Pacific Railroad, and we are actively marketing both heavy-haul ties, as well as an industrial concrete tie from Grand Island.

我們的格蘭德島和圖森工廠的利用率約為聯合太平洋鐵路的 70%，我們正在積極行銷格蘭德島的重載枕木以及工業混凝土枕木。

In Spokane, we continue to produce concrete ties for transit authorities, other Class I railroads, contractors and industrial customers. And we continue to experience a stable inquiry and bidding activity.

在斯波坎，我們繼續為運輸當局、其他一級鐵路、承包商和工業客戶生產混凝土枕木。我們繼續經歷穩定的詢價和投標活動。

The Construction product sales increase was due to a 57.4% increase in concrete buildings and a 15.5% improvement in piling product sales. Both the bridge and concrete buildings markets have benefited from stimulus funding, and those businesses continue to experience robust bidding activity and have strong backlogs.

建築產品銷售成長的原因是混凝土建築成長了 57.4%，打樁產品銷售額成長了 15.5%。橋樑和混凝土建築市場都受益於刺激資金，這些企業繼續經歷強勁的招標活動，並有大量積壓訂單。

The second-quarter Tubular improvement was due to sales increases in coated products, as well as a strengthening in our threaded products business. The energy markets served by our Coated division were strong for the past several years and then turned extremely weak in 2009. After a very weak first quarter, second-quarter Coated product sales recovered somewhat and have begun to see increased bidding activity, which have improved Coated's backlog to be more than double that of last June.

第二季管材業務的改善是由於塗層產品銷售的增加以及我們螺紋產品業務的加強。我們塗層部門服務的能源市場在過去幾年表現強勁，但在2009 年變得極其疲軟。在第一季度非常疲軟之後，第二季度塗層產品銷售有所回升，並開始看到投標活動增加，這使得塗層產品銷售有所改善。Coated 的積壓訂單比去年六月增加了一倍多。

As a percentage of this quarter's consolidated sales, Tubular accounted for 6%, Construction was 50% and Rail was 44% of total sales. Backlog -- as we mentioned in our earnings release, backlog stood at $207.2 million at the end of the second quarter, up 41.1% from June 2009 and marginally higher than last quarter. Bookings for the second quarter increased by 4.9% to $120.6 million as compared to $115 million last year. For the first six months of 2010, bookings were $226.7 million compared to $214.9 million, a 5.5% increase.

以本季綜合銷售額的百分比計算，管材佔總銷售額的 6%，建築佔 50%，鐵路佔總銷售額的 44%。積壓訂單－正如我們在財報中所提到的，第二季末積壓訂單量為 2.072 億美元，比 2009 年 6 月成長 41.1%，略高於上一季。第二季的預訂量成長了 4.9%，達到 1.206 億美元，而去年為 1.15 億美元。 2010 年前六個月的預訂量為 2.267 億美元，較 2.149 億美元增加了 5.5%。

Gross profit margins were 17% in the second quarter, an increase of about 410 basis points from last year's second quarter. The improvement in margin was due principally to the $3.7 million of concrete tie adjustments taken in the second quarter of 2009 and decreased net plant expenses of $2.1 million in the current-year quarter, partially offset by decreased favorable LIFO adjustments of $1.1 million.

第二季毛利率為17%，較去年第二季成長約410個基點。利潤率的提高主要是由於 2009 年第二季度進行了 370 萬美元的混凝土領帶調整，以及本季度淨工廠費用減少了 210 萬美元，部分被 LIFO 有利調整減少了 110 萬美元所抵消。

Our SG&A expenses increased by $2.2 million or 25.1% to $10.8 million in the second quarter of 2010 due to incentive compensation expenses of $900,000, M&A transaction costs of $700,000 and bad debt expense increased, up $0.5 million. Excluding deal costs, SG&A represented 8.5% of sales in the second quarter of 2010 as compared to 8.7% of sales in last year's second quarter, the decrease being the result of the increase in this quarter's sales.

2010 年第二季度，我們的SG&A 費用增加了220 萬美元，即25.1%，達到1,080 萬美元，原因是激勵補償費用為90 萬美元，併購交易成本為70 萬美元，壞帳費用增加了50 萬美元。不計交易成本，SG&A 佔 2010 年第二季銷售額的 8.5%，而去年第二季佔銷售額的 8.7%，下降是由於本季銷售額成長所致。

As a result of the foregoing, second-quarter operating income was $9.5 million compared to $4.4 million in last year's second quarter, a $5.1 million or 115.6% improvement. As a percentage of sales, operating income was 8% in this year's quarter versus 4.4% last year. If we were to exclude the second-quarter 2009 concrete tie adjustments, this year's second quarter would have still exceeded the prior year operating income by approximately $1.4 million.

綜上所述，第二季營業收入為 950 萬美元，與去年第二季的 440 萬美元相比，增加了 510 萬美元，即 115.6%。今年季度營業收入佔銷售額的百分比為 8%，而去年為 4.4%。如果我們排除 2009 年第二季的具體關聯調整，今年第二季的營業收入仍將比去年同期多出約 140 萬美元。

Interest expense was $241,000 in the second quarter of 2010, $92,000 or 27.6% less than last year. The decline was due to reduced average borrowings and, to a lesser extent, lower average interest rates.

2010 年第二季利息支出為 241,000 美元，比去年減少 92,000 美元，即 27.6%。下降的原因是平均借款減少以及平均利率下降（較小程度）。

Interest income was $107,000 compared to $212,000 last year, a decrease of $105,000 or almost 50%, due entirely to a significant decline in interest rates from the second quarter of last year. Our cash has been invested principally in money market funds, bank certificates of deposit and other short-term instruments, where preservation of principle and quick access to funds has been the priority.

利息收入為 107,000 美元，與去年的 212,000 美元相比，減少了 105,000 美元，近 50%，這完全是由於去年第二季利率大幅下降。我們的現金主要投資於貨幣市場基金、銀行存單和其他短期工具，其中保本和快速取得資金一直是首要任務。

Second-quarter 2010 pretax income was $9.4 million compared to $4.3 million last year, a $5.1 million or 118.5% increase. As a percentage of sales, pretax income was 7.8% this year compared to 4.3% last year.

2010 年第二季稅前收入為 940 萬美元，與去年的 430 萬美元相比，增加了 510 萬美元，即 118.5%。今年稅前收入佔銷售額的百分比為 7.8%，而去年為 4.3%。

Second-quarter 2010 effective income tax rate was 36.1% in this year compared to 38.1% last year. The decrease in rate was principally due to an increased domestic manufacturing deduction which we have been able to take advantage of.

2010年第二季的有效所得稅率為36.1%，去年為38.1%。稅率下降主要是因為我們能夠利用國內製造業扣除額的增加。

Net income increased 125.8% to $6 million or $0.58 per diluted share compared to $2.7 million or $0.26 per diluted share last year.

淨利潤成長 125.8%，達到 600 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.58 美元，去年為 270 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.26 美元。

Turning to the balance sheet, debt at the end of the second quarter was $17.8 million compared to $18.6 million at the end of 2009 and to $24.5 million at the end of the second quarter of last year.

談到資產負債表，第二季末的債務為 1,780 萬美元，而 2009 年末為 1,860 萬美元，去年第二季末為 2,450 萬美元。

Capital expenditures were $1.4 million for the second quarter compared to $1.7 million for the prior-year quarter. The majority of this quarter's spend was principally for yard upgrades, maintenance capital expenditures and productivity-enhancing equipment.

第二季資本支出為 140 萬美元，去年同期為 170 萬美元。本季的大部分支出主要用於船廠升級、維護資本支出和提高生產力的設備。

Depending on the timing of certain planned projects, we expect capital expenditures are likely to range between $6 million and $7 million this year. We believe that during 2010, our cash flow from operations will exceed capital expenditures, scheduled debt service payments and share repurchases.

根據某些計劃項目的時間安排，我們預計今年的資本支出可能在 600 萬美元至 700 萬美元之間。我們相信，2010 年，我們的營運現金流量將超過資本支出、預定償債付款和股票回購。

Regarding share repurchases, we did not repurchase any Foster stock during the first half of 2010, and there is still a little less than $11.7 million left on the Board authorization.

關於股票回購，2010年上半年我們沒有回購任何福斯特股票，董事會授權還剩下不到1,170萬美元。

Debt as a percentage of capitalization was 6.9% at the end of June compared to 7.4% at the end of December. Our leverage ratio is 0.49-to-1, and our interest coverage was more than 34-to-1. Cash at the end of June was $131.3 million, which was invested principally in AAA-rated money market funds.

6 月底債務佔資本總額的百分比為 6.9%，而 12 月底為 7.4%。我們的槓桿率為0.49比1，我們的利息覆蓋率超過34比1。 6月底現金為1.313億美元，主要投資於AAA評級的貨幣市場基金。

Working capital, net of cash, decreased by $9.2 million compared to March of 2010 and by $11.9 million compared to December last year. Our accounts receivable increased by $20.9 million during the quarter, primarily due to the fact that June and May sales were $20.5 million higher than February and March, as well as a two-day increase we experienced in our DSO to 44 days. We continue to believe that our AR portfolio remains in very good condition.

扣除現金後的營運資金與 2010 年 3 月相比減少了 920 萬美元，與去年 12 月相比減少了 1,190 萬美元。本季我們的應收帳款增加了 2,090 萬美元，主要是由於 6 月和 5 月的銷售額比 2 月和 3 月高出 2,050 萬美元，以及我們的 DSO 週期增加了兩天至 44 天。我們仍然相信我們的 AR 產品組合仍處於非常良好的狀態。

Inventory declined by $11.8 million during the second quarter of 2010. This was due to decreases across all three segments, with Rail leading the way with a $6.8 million reduction.

2010 年第二季度，庫存減少了 1,180 萬美元。這是由於所有三個部門的庫存都減少了，其中鐵路行業的庫存減少最多，減少了 680 萬美元。

Looking forward, we believe that the current recession, continued credit concerns and current anticipated future reductions in tax receipts by state governments in upcoming months will present challenges to L.B. Foster and the markets we serve. As a result of reduced demand for certain of our products and a heightened competitive environment, we expect to continue to struggle with margin compression for at least the next three months.

展望未來，我們認為，當前的經濟衰退、持續的信貸擔憂以及當前預期的州政府未來幾個月稅收收入的減少將為 L.B. 帶來挑戰。福斯特和我們服務的市場。由於對我們某些產品的需求減少以及競爭環境加劇，我們預計至少在未來三個月內將繼續面臨利潤壓縮的困境。

We will continue to run our business with a balance of opportunism, while managing risk in this uncertain environment by proactively adjusting to what we see in our markets. We believe that when conditions do improve, the markets we participate in will be poised for significant improvement.

我們將繼續以機會主義的平衡來經營我們的業務，同時透過主動調整我們在市場上看到的情況來管理這個不確定環境中的風險。我們相信，當情況確實改善時，我們參與的市場將會顯著改善。

L.B. Foster has a tremendous advantage of navigating through this period in extremely strong financial position. We did end the quarter with $131 million of cash, as we noted, and over $70 million of available credit, giving us the ability to take advantage of opportunities as future circumstances develop.

磅。福斯特擁有巨大的優勢，能夠以極其強勁的財務狀況度過這段時期。正如我們所指出的，我們在本季末確實擁有 1.31 億美元的現金，以及超過 7000 萬美元的可用信貸，使我們能夠在未來情況的發展中利用機會。

That concludes my comments on the second quarter. We will now open up the session to questions. Nikita?

我對第二季的評論就到此結束。我們現在將開始提問。尼基塔？

(Operator Instructions) Brent Thielman, D.A. Davidson.

（操作員說明）Brent Thielman，D.A.戴維森。

Guys, I was wondering if you guys could just talk a little bit about what the impact weather had in Q1 and whether you saw some pushout in projects to Q2 and how that sort of played into the quarter.

夥計們，我想知道你們是否可以談談天氣對第一季的影響，以及你們是否看到一些項目被推遲到第二季度，以及這種情況在本季度的影響如何。

Really, it was insignificant. There was no bearing did it have on results. Q1 is typically a slower -- probably our slowest quarter. And the second quarter, of course, normally traditionally picks up. So weather really had no bearing on performance in the (inaudible) quarter.

確實，那是微不足道的。它對結果沒有影響。第一季通常會較慢——可能是我們最慢的季度。當然，第二季通常會出現傳統的改善。因此，天氣確實對（聽不清楚）季度的業績沒有影響。

Okay, and I guess as you look at your book-to-bill, you've been above 1 here for the last few quarters. Based on sort of what you see in the near term, is that sustainable?

好的，我想當你查看你的訂單出貨率時，你會發現過去幾季你的訂單率一直高於 1。根據您近期看到的情況，這種情況可持續嗎？

What was the question again?

又問了什麼？

Just in terms of your book-to-bill, obviously very solid, above 1. And I'm just curious, based on what you see in the short-term, is that sustainable?

就你們的訂單出貨率而言，顯然非常穩定，高於 1。我只是很好奇，根據你們在短期內看到的情況，這種情況是否可持續？

Normally -- traditionally, our best booking months -- our best quarter is first quarter, followed by second quarter. Third quarter normally is a strong billing month and bookings kind of drop off. So I would think that -- and based on our backlog, we've got quite a bit to work through the system that the -- last half of the year that the bookings would outweigh the -- the billings will outweigh the bookings.

通常——傳統上，我們最好的預訂月份——我們最好的季度是第一季度，其次是第二季度。第三季通常是一個強勁的帳單月份，預訂量下降。因此，我認為，根據我們的積壓，我們需要透過該系統進行大量工作，以便在今年下半年，預訂量將超過預訂量。

Okay. Fair enough. And then I guess -- I appreciate the comments in terms of margin pressures, but obviously you had a solid quarter here. The gross margins that we saw in Q2, is that consistent with what you'd sort of anticipate seeing in Q3 or was there anything else that contributed in the quarter?

好的。很公平。然後我想 - 我很欣賞關於利潤壓力的評論，但顯然你在這裡度過了一個穩定的季度。我們在第二季看到的毛利率與您在第三季看到的毛利率是否一致，或者本季還有其他貢獻嗎？

As far as the second-quarter margins, there was nothing in there that is really unusual, Brent. We did have -- as we have at different times, we had a $500,000 LIFO credit, which is -- obviously, we had that last year and it is continuing, to a small extent, this year.

布倫特，就第二季的利潤率而言，沒有什麼真正不尋常的地方。我們確實有——正如我們在不同時期所做的那樣，我們有 50 萬美元的後進先出信用，很明顯，我們去年就有了，今年還在小範圍內繼續。

And we've had extremely good performance at our plants; our manufacturing facilities have done a great job. We've gotten some volume in there, and that was a significant contributor to the positive margins this year.

我們的工廠表現非常出色；我們的生產設施做得很好。我們已經獲得了一定的銷量，這是今年利潤率為正的重要因素。

As Stan mentioned, when we get to especially the fourth quarter and the first quarter, when there is less volume going through there, it is a little more difficult to run through those quarters with no net plant expenses.

正如史丹所提到的，當我們特別是第四季和第一季時，那裡的銷量較少，在沒有淨工廠費用的情況下運行這些季度會有點困難。

But second quarter obviously was very good. Mix played a small role as well, our distribution results were good, but the manufacturing facilities really came through. And the sales on some of our manufacturing businesses, like concrete buildings and our bridge business, did an excellent job and certainly contributed to the positive result.

但第二季顯然非常好。混合也發揮了很小的作用，我們的分銷結果很好，但製造設施確實成功了。我們的一些製造業務（例如混凝土建築和橋樑業務）的銷售表現出色，無疑為積極的業績做出了貢獻。

Just to follow on Dave's comments, Brent, manufacturing in the variances that we -- I think the positive, not positive, but the variance swings in the quarter were $2 million positive from the plants. What a difference volumes will have, and that really came into play in the second quarter.

就戴夫的評論而言，布倫特，我們的製造差異是積極的，不是積極的，但本季工廠的差異波動為 200 萬美元。成交量將會產生多大的差異，這在第二季才真正發揮作用。

But also, I've got to give credit to the ops groups and what they are doing from a process improvement and leaning out the complete organization. There is just a number of positive things that are going on in that level.

而且，我還必須讚揚營運團隊以及他們在流程改善和傾斜整個組織方面所做的工作。在這個層面上正在發生一些正面的事情。

And then we are continuing to see pressure on pricing in the distribution side. I did mention that there wasn't a lot of change in pricing from first quarter to second quarter, but when you compare second quarter this year to second quarter last year in our new rail and piling business, transaction pricing is down about 20%. And we have picked up some bigger volumes in a couple of those areas. We've gotten bigger share in the new rail side of it. But that pricing pressure has really added to margin compression also. So we are fighting that every day.

然後我們繼續看到分銷方面的定價壓力。我確實提到，從第一季到第二季度，定價沒​​有太大變化，但當你將今年第二季度與去年第二季度我們新的鐵路和打樁業務進行比較時，交易定價下降了約20 %。我們在其中幾個領域獲得了一些更大的銷售。我們在新鐵路方面獲得了更大的份額。但定價壓力確實也加劇了利潤率壓縮。所以我們每天都在與之鬥爭。

Okay, thanks, guys. And I guess just one last one, if I could. You talked about some larger project opportunities benefiting your backlog in the past. Is there anything that you see sort of in the forefront that -- I mean, sort of talk about what you see in terms of larger project opportunities out there.

好的，謝謝大家。如果可以的話，我想只有最後一個。您談到了過去一些較大的專案機會對您的積壓工作有利。您是否看到了一些最前沿的東西——我的意思是，談談您所看到的更大的專案機會。

As I did mention, there are some -- there's a couple big projects out there in the bridge fabrication side, which we are following very closely. There are a couple of piling jobs which we are following very closely. That is about it.

正如我所提到的，在橋樑製造方面有一些大型項目，我們正在密切關注。我們正在密切關注幾項打樁工作。就是這樣。

Rail is -- new rail, the distribution side has always got the fairly bigger sized jobs, but I know we're watching a couple very closely in the fab product side in bridge in particular.

鐵路是——新的鐵路，分銷方面總是有相當大的工作規模，但我知道我們正在非常密切地關注工廠產品方面的一些工作，特別是橋樑。

Okay. Congratulations on a great quarter. Thank you.

好的。恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。謝謝。

Liam Burke, Janney Montgomery Scott.

利亞姆·伯克，珍妮·蒙哥馬利·斯科特。

Stan, on the concrete tie side, it looks like utilization rates on the three plants are beginning to creep up. Are there any plans to look at expanding that business beyond the three plants, either into other geographies or with other Class I customers?

史丹，在混凝土枕木方面，看起來三個工廠的利用率正在開始上升。是否有計劃考慮將該業務擴展到三個工廠之外，擴展到其他地區或與其他 I 類客戶合作？

You know, that is one thing that we've always got in the back of our mind, a possible expansion. A lot is going to really depend on what happens. We've talked in the past, Liam, about high-speed rail, some of those projects. I know that Kevin Haugh and his group are looking at more portable plants, which could be adaptable to certain projects down the future, but -- down the road in the future.

你知道，這是我們一直牢記在心的一件事，即可能的擴張。很大程度上取決於發生的情況。利亞姆，我們過去討論過高鐵以及其中的一些項目。我知道凱文·豪（Kevin Haugh）和他的團隊正在尋找更多的便攜式設備，這些設備可能適用於未來的某些項目，但是——在未來的道路上。

But right now, I believe we've got capacity of about 1.2 million, 1.3 million in ties at our three facilities. And as David said, we are approaching 70%, and I think we are looking at 800,000 to 850,000 for the year, but we still have a long ways to go to fill up to capacity in those three plants.

但現在，我相信我們的三個工廠的產能約為 120 萬條，其中 130 萬條。正如 David 所說，我們已經接近 70%，我認為今年我們的目標是 80 萬到 85 萬輛，但要達到這三個工廠的產能，我們還有很長的路要走。

Okay. On the pilings side, obviously the construction market is pretty dormant. Is that changing how you are looking at the business? Are you focusing more on -- less on the leasing and more on shipping piling for infrastructure projects?

好的。在打樁方面，顯然建築市場相當休眠。這是否改變了您對業務的看法？您是否更專注於基礎設施項目的租賃，而更專注於航運堆放？

Well, heavy civil is fairly flat, but we still continue to see downward pressure. Last numbers we looked at in the non-res was off -- expected to be down 20%, 22% this year. And that jumps on 13% last year. We don't participate a lot in that market, but that is down.

嗯，重型民用建築相當平穩，但我們仍然繼續看到下行壓力。我們最近看到的非資源數據有所下降——預計今年將下降 20%、22%。去年這一數字躍升至 13%。我們在這個市場的參與度並不高，但這個市場已經在下降。

And Liam, the other thing is we still -- the credit situation in this country is still putting a lot of pressure on industrial business in the private sector, and we are not seeing a lot of that.

利亞姆，另一件事是我們仍然——這個國家的信貸狀況仍然給私營部門的工業企業帶來很大的壓力，而我們並沒有看到太多壓力。

Piling, we came into the year with a real strong backlog in piling, and we will go through a lot of that throughout the course of the year. But we are just not seeing the activity levels that we saw last year. And again, the big jobs. Last year, we had the big shipment down into Panama, and we had big work that still carried over this year into New Orleans.

打樁，今年我們在打樁方面積壓了很多積壓，我們將在這一年中經歷很多這樣的事情。但我們只是沒有看到去年的活動量。再說一遍，大工作。去年，我們將大量貨物運往巴拿馬，今年我們還有大量工作繼續運往新奧爾良。

We are looking at some work. I think we were successful in a project up in Alaska, which we [booked], a $3 million job a couple weeks ago. There will be more work coming up there in the next couple years. There is still a lot of work to be doing in the port of Anchorage.

我們正在尋找一些工作。我認為我們在阿拉斯加的一個專案取得了成功，幾週前我們[預訂了]一份價值 300 萬美元的工作。未來幾年將會有更多的工作要做。安克雷奇港還有很多工作要做。

But there is just -- there's a lull in the activity, and we are just not seeing that -- we're not seeing the big projects, and we are not seeing a lot of the day-to-day industrial work. So it is being challenged, and both of our distribution businesses are being challenged.

但只是——活動暫停了，我們只是沒有看到這一點——我們沒有看到大型項目，也沒有看到很多日常工業工作。所以它受到了挑戰，我們的兩個分銷業務都受到了挑戰。

Great. Thank you, Stan.

偉大的。謝謝你，斯坦。

Tom Spiro, Spiro Capital Management.

湯姆‧斯皮羅 (Tom Spiro)，斯皮羅資本管理公司。

Stan, with respect to pricing, I think you mentioned in your earlier commentary that pricing in I guess many of our product lines is down compared to last year. How has it been trending this year, Q1 to Q2, and looking out into Q3?

史丹，關於定價，我想你在之前的評論中提到，我想我們許多產品線的定價與去年相比有所下降。今年第一季到第二季以及第三季的趨勢如何？

Q1 to Q2 has been -- let me just say this -- the pricing has been -- the downward pressure has been primarily on the distribution side, Tom, and that is about 50-50 manufacturing and distribution. So the pressure has been on the distribution side.

第一季到第二季——讓我這麼說——定價一直是——下行壓力主要來自分銷方面，湯姆，大約是 50-50 的製造和分銷。所以壓力一直在分銷方面。

We didn't really see a lot of downward pressure from Q1 to Q2, but as I said, Q2 this year in both new rail and pilings running about 15% less than what it was last year. We don't look for too much change going forward. We've talked about this in Q1; we are getting pretty close to the bottom, and we are just not looking for a lot of drop-off, if any, in the future, Tom.

從第一季到第二季度，我們並沒有真正看到很大的下行壓力，但正如我所說，今年第二季度的新鐵路和樁基運行量比去年減少了約 15%。我們不希望未來有太多變化。我們在第一季度討論過這個問題；我們已經非常接近底部了，我們只是不希望未來出現大量下降（如果有的話），湯姆。

But there wasn't much drop-off between Q1 and Q2, but there has been a drop-off between Q2 last year and Q2 this year.

但Q1和Q2之間沒有太大下降，但去年Q2和今年Q2之間出現了下降。

And also, Stan, in your earlier commentary, I think you mentioned that we'd gained significant market share in rail distribution. I was curious how we managed to do that.

另外，斯坦，在您之前的評論中，我想您提到我們在鐵路分銷方面獲得了巨大的市場份額。我很好奇我們是如何做到這一點的。

Well, I tell you what. There is a -- the consumption rate of rail in this country is about 1 million tons per year, a little less -- it was up to 1.1 million, 150 in 2008 before the crash, and then it dropped down to low 9s, high 8s. We don't play in that whole market. We don't sell to the Class I railroads, and we don't buy rail for trackwork construction, and that is probably about 70% of the overall total consumption.

好吧，我告訴你什麼。有一個 - 這個國家的鐵路消耗率每年大約100萬噸，稍微少一些 - 2008年崩潰之前達到110萬噸，150，然後下降到低9，高8秒。我們並不涉足整個市場。我們不向一級鐵路出售產品，也不購買用於軌道工程建設的鐵路，這可能佔總消耗量的 70% 左右。

What we do, we sell to the transit business, we sell to the contractors, we sell to industrial work, we will sell to shortlines, we will sell to the regionals. And that market in normal times, Tom, is probably about 250,000 tons, a quarter million tons.

我們所做的，我們賣給運輸企業，我們賣給承包商，我們賣給工業工作，我們將賣給短線，我們將賣給地區。湯姆，正常情況下的市場容量可能約為 25 萬噸，即 25 萬噸。

And we -- our share of that has been running about 30% to 35% in the last few years. But there has been some work that was released early this year that we participated in, and we've been successful. And so our share has gone up 19% in that market that we participate in.

過去幾年，我們的份額一直保持在 30% 到 35% 左右。但我們參與了今年年初發布的一些工作，並且取得了成功。因此，在我們參與的市場中，我們的份額上升了 19%。

Now, let me also say something. In that downturn between 2008 and the end of last year, the market that we participate in, which we try to gauge it in good times at that point was about 250,000 tons, had dropped to about 150,000 tons. So were looking at a 40% drop-off in market. So it really hurt our Rail group last year, and I think that they've really done a good job responding this year. Of course, we've been working with Steel Dynamics in Rocky Mountain primarily, and we are getting some AREMA-quality roll out of Steel Dynamics, and that has really helped us across the board.

現在，我也說一句。在2008年至去年年底的經濟低迷時期，我們參與的市場（當時我們在景氣時期試圖衡量的市場規模約為25萬噸）已降至約15萬噸。因此，我們預計市場將下降 40%。所以去年我們的鐵路集團確實受到了傷害，我認為他們今年的應對工作確實做得很好。當然，我們主要在落基山與 Steel Dynamics 合作，並且我們正在從 Steel Dynamics 中獲得一些 AREMA 品質的產品，這確實對我們有全面的幫助。

Thanks.

謝謝。

To make a short question long, that was my answer.

把一個簡短的問題拉長，這就是我的答案。

Very helpful, though, very informative. Thank you. Next, are we -- in terms of personnel, are we hiring, are we firing or stable?

不過，非常有幫助，資訊非常豐富。謝謝。接下來，就人員而言，我們是在招募、解僱還是穩定？

Dave and I were just going through that before we came in here, and I think that we are up probably quarter-over-quarter about 5%. But mostly it is in the plants. I think we are up -- 75% of the people that we've hired have been in the plant levels because of the added capacity, which has helped us all the way around.

戴夫和我在來到這裡之前剛剛經歷過這個過程，我認為我們的季度環比增長可能約為 5%。但主要是在植物中。我認為我們已經進步了——由於產能的增加，我們僱用的員工中有 75% 都在工廠工作，這對我們一路都有幫助。

Finally, I know from time to time over the last year, we've wrestled with some warranty issues in the concrete tie area. Can you give us an update there, please?

最後，我知道，在過去的一年裡，我們時常在混凝土領帶區域遇到一些保固問題。您能給我們更新一下嗎？

We continue to hear from the Union Pacific, and we don't necessarily agree with some of the claims that they've made, and we've pushed back. But we have continued to have dialogue, and we will continue to have dialogue going forward.

我們繼續收到聯合太平洋公司的來信，我們不一定同意他們提出的一些說法，我們已經反駁了。但我們一直在繼續進行對話，而且我們將繼續進行對話。

Were there any ties -- sorry, charges related to that issue in Q2?

是否有任何關聯 - 抱歉，與第二季度該問題相關的指控？

No.

不。

Thanks much.

非常感謝。

Scott Blumenthal, Emerald Advisers.

史考特‧布盧門撒爾，翡翠顧問。

Dave, you had talked about the utilization being about 70% at Grand Island and Tucson. Is that the same at Spokane?

Dave，您曾談到格蘭德島和圖森的使用率約為 70%。斯波坎也是這樣嗎？

Spokane is just a little bit lower than that.

斯波坎比這低一點點。

Okay, so in the 65% to 70% range, more or less?

好的，那麼在 65% 到 70% 的範圍內，是多還是少？

Probably right around just a little over 60%.

大概只有 60% 多一點。

Okay. And one of you mentioned robust bidding activity in the precast buildings. I think that was maybe you, Dave, shortly after Stan mentioned that all of the stimulus funds had been -- or that you had expected had been allocated. Could you talk a little about where the demand is coming from then, since it has been our assumption that most of that has come from public funds, states, cities, municipalities, park (multiple speakers)?

好的。其中一位提到了預製建築中強勁的招標活動。我想，戴夫，在斯坦提到所有刺激資金已經——或者你預期已經分配完畢後不久，這可能就是你。您能否談談需求從何而來，因為我們假設大部分需求來自公共資金、州、城市、市政當局、公園（多位發言者）？

TO begin with, Scott, I think I mentioned that our bookings in the quarter were up 30% plus, and that is still coming from the stimulus bill.

首先，斯科特，我想我提到我們本季的預訂量增加了 30% 以上，而且這仍然來自刺激法案。

As far as we -- we look at the total amount of the spend of the stimulus, which was over $780 billion, and which we were hoping for was a lot more than what the market we participated in. But we participated in a market that included about $50 billion, okay? And that really cuts three or four products.

就我們而言，我們看到刺激計劃的支出總額超過 7800 億美元，我們所希望的金額比我們參與的市場要多得多。但我們參與的市場是其中包括大約500億美元，好嗎？這確實減少了三到四種產品。

But the big winner that we've had has been in the building side of it. And the money has been committed, but it hasn't been spent. So what we are seeing is bidding activity and booking activity was still up in the second quarter, which really had a positive impact on our backlog. We're still carrying a backlog in buildings which is over 30% above last year. But that will slow down, and it will slow down throughout the balance of the year in bookings as we -- as the backlog comes through the system.

但我們最大的贏家是建築方面。而且錢已經承諾了，但是還沒花掉。因此，我們看到第二季度的投標活動和預訂活動仍然增加，這確實對我們的積壓產生了積極影響。我們的建築訂單仍然積壓，比去年增加了 30% 以上。但這將會放緩，隨著系統中積壓的訂單增加，預訂量將在今年剩餘時間內放緩。

Now, going forward, we still look at -- a lot of this is coming from states and counties and municipalities, and the last I saw that it is still 46% -- 46 out of the 50 states were still running at negative budgets. And they are getting better. I mean, it's getting better, but it is still not where it was three years ago.

現在，展望未來，我們仍然關注——其中許多來自州、縣和市，我最後看到的比例仍然是 46%——50 個州中有 46 個州的預算仍然為負。他們正在變得更好。我的意思是，情況正在好轉，但仍然沒有達到三年前的水平。

So we don't really look forward a long way, but we are coming off a couple really good years, and this year will be no exception in buildings. But as that slows down, we are looking at next year already, about how can we backfill that additional capacity. Buildings overall from the stimulus project will slow down. The counties and the cities and the states probably won't be able to be fiscally able to buy at the levels that they were buying in 2006 and 2007. So we are looking at other opportunities to put into the plants to get us through this shortfall.

因此，我們並沒有真正期待很長的路，但我們已經度過了幾年非常美好的時光，今年在建築領域也不例外。但隨著這種速度放緩，我們已經在考慮明年如何回填額外的產能。刺激項目的整體建築建設速度將會放緩。各縣、市和州可能無法在財政上達到 2006 年和 2007 年購買水準。因此，我們正在尋找其他機會來建造工廠，以幫助我們克服這一短缺。

Got it. And Stan, could you remind us what is the time from order to delivery for a precast concrete building?

知道了。史丹，您能否提醒我們預製混凝土建築從訂單到交貨的時間是多少？

It varies. I mean, we could do it -- one of the things that -- I'll tell you what -- and maybe you can jump in here, Dave -- but I know that they've really done a lot to cut that time. In fact, they've cut that time in half in the last couple years, with some of the process improvements and some of the new concrete that they are using in the facilities. But it is probably -- you could get it out in a month.

它有所不同。我的意思是，我們可以做到這一點——其中一件事——我會告訴你什麼——也許你可以跳到這裡，戴夫——但我知道他們確實做了很多事情來縮短時間。事實上，在過去幾年中，他們透過一些工藝改進以及在設施中使用的一些新混凝土，將時間縮短了一半。但很可能——你可以在一個月內把它拿出來。

The plant can put a building out in a couple of days, Scott, two, three days. Sometimes the front end -- there are so many different options on some of these products, that getting it down with a customer. And if it's going to a local state or municipality, there are all kinds of different building code concerns. So the front end can take a while. So the Federal, the National Park Service products are a little easier on the front end and (multiple speakers).

該工廠可以在幾天內建造一座建築物，斯科特，兩三天。有時，前端—其中一些產品有太多不同的選擇，以至於客戶無法接受。如果是去當地的州或市，就會出現各種不同的建築規範問題。所以前端可能需要一段時間。因此，聯邦、國家公園管理局的產品在前端和（多個揚聲器）上要容易一些。

Setting up contractors and --

設立承包商以及—

It can vary, and sometimes you get it built and a state or municipality isn't ready for it and it can sit a little bit. But anywhere from 30 to 60 days is a reasonable timeframe.

它可能會有所不同，有時你把它建成了，但州或市政府還沒有準備好，它可能會稍微擱置一下。但 30 到 60 天都是合理的時間範圍。

Okay. That's helpful. And can you give us a little bit more of an idea as to where the demand for the fabricated bridge products is coming from? Is that newbuilds or is it mostly rehab work at this point (multiple speakers)?

好的。這很有幫助。您能給我們更多關於組裝式橋樑產品的需求來自哪裡的想法嗎？這是新建的還是目前主要是修復工作（多個揚聲器）？

Most all the work we get in this product is rehab work, and most all of it is in the Northeast, Scott. We've picked up some nice work out in Chicago in their vascular bridge system in the city. But we had a big job in Baltimore last year. We've got a big job in upstate New York, [Owensburg], New York. We've got approach ramps which we will be doing through the balance of the year on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. We are bidding very actively a Walt Whitman project down in Philadelphia. But these are all rehab works.

我們在該產品中獲得的大部分工作都是康復工作，而且大部分都在東北部，斯科特。我們在芝加哥的血管橋系統中取得了一些不錯的成果。但去年我們在巴爾的摩完成了一項艱鉅的任務。我們在紐約州北部（紐約州歐文斯堡）找到了一份重要工作。我們已經有了引道坡道，我們將在今年剩餘的時間裡在紐約布魯克林大橋上建造這些坡道。我們正在非常積極地競標費城的沃爾特惠特曼計畫。但這些都是復健工作。

And there is some big work that is continuing. There is a job over the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, which we were successful in booking in the quarter. So it is all rehab work and it's primarily in the northeast part of the country, Scott. And it is very active right now from a bidding standpoint.

還有一些重大工作正在進行中。底特律大使橋上有一個工作，我們在本季度成功預訂了這項工作。所以這都是康復工作，而且主要是在該國的東北部地區，斯科特。從競標的角度來看，它現在非常活躍。

Like I said, our backlog in bridge is as high as it has been, and we expect that to continue, because booking activity and bidding activity is still very strong.

就像我說的，我們的橋樑積壓量與以往一樣高，我們預計這種情況會持續下去，因為預訂活動和投標活動仍然非常強勁。

Got it. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it.

知道了。好的。謝謝。欣賞它。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Zinski, 21st Century Equity.

（操作員指示）Mark Zinski，21 世紀股票。

Congratulations on the quarter. Just to touch on the stimulus again, there is speculation that -- well, the Administration is kind of admitting that a lot of these projects were not shovel-ready when the stimulus was launched. So there is some speculation that this summer, the construction activity related to the stimulus may pick up considerably versus last summer. Are you seeing any (technical difficulty)?

恭喜本季。再次談到刺激計劃，有人猜測——好吧，政府承認在刺激計劃推出時，許多項目尚未準備就緒。因此有人猜測，今年夏天與刺激措施相關的建築活動可能會比去年夏天大幅增加。您發現任何（技術困難）嗎？

We lose him? Hello?

我們失去他了？你好？

Mark, please check your phone for the mute feature.

馬克，請檢查您的手機是否有靜音功能。

I thought it was us.

我以為是我們。

It appears we have lost Mark. We do have a follow-up from the line of Tom Spiro, Spiro Capital Management.

看來我們失去了馬克。我們確實有湯姆·斯皮羅（Tom Spiro）、斯皮羅資本管理公司（Spiro Capital Management）的後續行動。

Stan, I believe you mentioned that Tubular seems to be perking up a little bit. What is driving that, and how sustainable is it?

史丹，我相信你提到過管狀似乎有點活躍起來。是什麼推動了這個趨勢？它的永續性如何？

We -- of course, there is a lot that is going on and drilling has picked up in the gas end of it, and --. Tom, it is not to the point where it is anywhere close where it was in the 2006/2007 timeframe. But the activity has picked up, and I think right now in coated, we have a backlog through October. It is not two shifts a day, but it is a one shift. And so it is just general activity.

當然，我們正在發生很多事情，天然氣方面的鑽探工作已經開始，而且——。 Tom，現在的情況還沒有達到 2006/2007 年的水準。但活動已經增加，我認為現在在塗層領域，我們的訂單積壓到了十月。不是一天兩班，而是一天一班。所以這只是一般活動。

And then in the threaded side, last year, of course, was the worst year we've had in the last decade. So we have -- in the water resources side of the business, pump column has picked up. We have picked up a couple accounts that we had lost have come back in the throes, and so everything has kind of played. And overall, we had a nice quarter in Tubular. We expect to continue that through the year.

然後在螺紋方面，去年當然是我們過去十年中最糟糕的一年。所以我們——在水資源方面的業務，泵業已經回升。我們已經找回了幾個失去的帳戶，但現在又回來了，所以一切都順利進行了。總的來說，我們在 Tubular 度過了一個愉快的季度。我們預計今年將繼續這樣做。

Also probably should mention that I was down in the Houston area two weeks ago and visited our joint venture, and very pleased with the product that they are turning out. We got a nice backlog that we are building at that joint venture, L.B. Pipe, which is an association with Lally Pipe. And it is coming along very nicely -- very impressed with the equipment, very impressed with the people, starting to get their process is in line and we expect some nice contributions in the second half of the year in that product.

也可能應該提到的是，兩週前我在休士頓地區參觀了我們的合資企業，並對他們生產的產品非常滿意。我們在合資企業 L.B. 中累積了大量的積壓訂單。 Pipe，與 Lally Pipe 關​​聯。它進展得非常好——設備給我們留下了深刻的印象，人們也給我們留下了深刻的印象，開始讓他們的流程保持一致，我們預計下半年該產品會做出一些不錯的貢獻。

As I recall from our Q1 call, we had some piling shipments that had been delayed. Do you expect to work through that this year?

我記得在第一季的電話會議中，我們有一些堆積的發貨被推遲了。您預計今年能解決這個問題嗎？

For the most part, Tom, we've got -- there are a couple of jobs that were delayed a little bit in Q1, and it is catching up. It caught up some in Q2. We expect that to right itself in Q3.

湯姆，在大多數情況下，我們在第一季有一些工作被推遲了一點，但現在正在迎頭趕上。它在第二季度趕上了一些。我們預計這種情況會在第三季自行修正。

But we not only have -- or had, I would say, delay issues, but we've got -- a couple of our large jobs in New Orleans with the Army Corps of Engineers are such that there is quite a delay between the time we take possession of the piling from the mill and get it to the yard and until the Army Corps takes it, which is when we can recognize revenue. So there is a long lead time in that order process. And we are sitting on quite a bit of inventory down in that yard, which we've already been paid for, but we haven't recognized revenue on it yet.

但我們不僅有——或者我想說的是，延遲問題，而且我們有——我們在新奧爾良與陸軍工程兵團的一些大型工作，時間之間存在相當大的延遲我們接管工廠的堆料並將其運至堆場，直到陸軍軍團接收為止，此時我們才能確認收入。因此，訂單流程中有很長的交貨時間。我們在那個院子裡擁有相當多的庫存，我們已經支付了這些庫存，但我們還沒有確認其收入。

So it is just what the revenue recognition rules are, that until the Army Corps takes it and takes the risk of ownership, we maintain the inventory on our books and aren't able to recognize the sale. So as that job unwinds, and that is going to go until at least the first quarter of next year, you will see that catch up some.

因此，收入確認規則就是這樣，在陸軍軍團接收它並承擔所有權風險之前，我們在帳簿上保留庫存，並且無法確認銷售。因此，隨著這項工作的結束，這至少會持續到明年第一季度，你會發現情況有所改善。

And the inventory will continue to come down. I think one of the areas that we really have a lot of pressure on with our operating people is inventory. We did reduce inventories in the quarter by about $11 million, and we've got a ways to go. But that is really impeding a lot of the process in the piling side of it, because I think that is close to $25 million of inventory, which actually, we've been paid for about 75% of that, Tom.

並且庫存還將繼續下降。我認為我們的營運人員真正面臨很大壓力的領域之一是庫存。本季我們確實減少了約 1100 萬美元的庫存，而且我們還有很長的路要走。但這確實阻礙了堆疊方面的許多流程，因為我認為庫存接近 2500 萬美元，實際上，我們已經支付了其中大約 75% 的費用，湯姆。

Thanks much, and good luck.

非常感謝，祝你好運。

It appears there are no additional questions at this time.

目前似乎沒有其他問題。

Thanks to all of you, and we do appreciate your continued support. And I hope that you all have the balance of a great summer. Thanks again.

感謝你們所有人，我們非常感謝你們一直以來的支持。我希望你們都能度過一個愉快的夏天。再次感謝。

This concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Good day.

今天的演講到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。再會。