渥肯建材 (VMC) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to the Vulcan Materials Company fourth quarter 2024 earnings call. My name is Shayna, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. (Operator Instructions)

早安.歡迎大家參加 Vulcan Materials Company 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。我叫 Shayna，今天我將擔任您的電話會議協調員。請注意，今天的通話正在錄音，今天晚些時候可以在公司網站上重播。（操作員指令）

Now I will turn the call over to your host, Mr Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin.

現在我將電話轉給主持人、Vulcan Materials 投資者關係副總裁馬克沃倫先生。沃倫先生，你可以開始啦。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. With me today are Tom Hill, Chairman and CEO; and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website vulcanmaterials.com.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。今天與我在一起的有董事長兼執行長湯姆希爾 (Tom Hill)；以及資深副總裁兼財務長瑪麗·安德魯斯·卡萊爾（Mary Andrews Carlisle）。今天的電話會議附有新聞稿和補充演示文稿，發佈在我們的網站 vulcanmaterials.com 上。

Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請注意，今天的討論可能包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響。這些風險以及其他法律免責聲明在該公司的收益報告和提交給美國證券交易委員會的其他文件中有詳細描述。

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation and other SEC filings. During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available.

非公認會計準則財務指標的調節在我們的收益報告、補充報告和其他 SEC 文件中定義和調節。在問答期間，我們要求您將參與限制在一個問題上。這將使我們能夠在可用的時間內盡可能多的人。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Mark, and thank all of you for your interest in Vulcan Materials today. 2024 was another year of successful execution. Our two-pronged growth strategy of enhancing our core and expanding our reach is working.

謝謝你，馬克，也謝謝大家今天對 Vulcan Materials 的關注。 2024年又是成功執行的一年。我們強化核心業務和擴大影響力的雙管齊下的成長策略正在發揮作用。

We improved our industry-leading Aggregates cash gross profit per ton by 12% and deployed over $2 billion towards value-creating Hagers led acquisitions. These acquisitions expanded our presence into new attractive growth areas and strengthened our existing franchise in three of our top 10 revenue states.

我們將業界領先的骨材每噸現金毛利提高了 12%，並部署了超過 20 億美元用於創造價值的 Hagers 主導的收購。這些收購將我們的業務擴展到新的具有吸引力的成長領域，並增強了我們在十大收入州中的三個州的現有特許經營權。

We finished the year strong we plan to capitalize on our solid momentum and deliver attractive earnings growth again in 2025. Before discussing our outlook in more detail, I will provide you some key highlights from our fourth quarter performance.

我們以強勁的勢頭結束了這一年，我們計劃利用強勁的勢頭並在 2025 年再次實現可觀的盈利增長。在更詳細地討論我們的前景之前，我將向您提供我們第四季度業績的一些關鍵亮點。

Our teams delivered $550 million of adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter, a 16% improvement over the prior year. Importantly, adjusted EBITDA margin improved on a year-over-year basis for an eighth consecutive quarter.

我們的團隊在第四季度實現了 5.5 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，比上年增長了 16%。重要的是，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率連續第八個季度同比增長。

In the Aggregates segment, cash gross profit per ton expanded 16% to $11.50 in the quarter through a combination of continued pricing momentum and moderating year-over-year unit cash cost of sales. Aggregates freight-adjusted price improved 11% in the quarter. consistent with full year results.

在骨材部門，由於價格持續上漲且單位現金銷售成本年減，本季每噸現金毛利擴大 16% 至 11.50 美元。本季度，經運費調整後的總價格上漲了 11%。與全年業績一致。

Price improvement remained geographically widespread. Aggregate shipments were more mixed in the quarter across geographies and end uses. Shipments were three% lower than the prior year.

價格改善在各個地域範圍內依然普遍。本季度，不同地區和最終用途的總出貨量情況較為複雜。出貨量比上年下降了 3%。

Growing public shipments and strong demand in the storm-impacted areas of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee helped to particularly offset headwinds in private construction activity. With less disruption from weather and our consistent focus on maximizing efficiencies through our Vulcan Way of operating efforts.

公共運輸量的不斷增長以及北卡羅來納州西部和田納西州東部受風暴影響地區的強勁需求特別有助於抵消私人建築活動的阻力。由於天氣幹擾較少，並且我們始終致力於透過 Vulcan Way 營運方式最大限度地提高效率。

Freight adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased 5% compared to the prior year. This was a meaningful improvement compared to previous quarters and a testament to the execution of our operating teams. This continued execution will be a focus for us in 2025.

運費調整後的單位現金銷售成本比前一年增加 5%。與前幾季相比，這是一個有意義的進步，也是對我們營運團隊執行力的證明。持續執行將成為我們 2025 年的工作重點。

The pricing environment remains healthy, and we expect freight-adjusted aggregate price to grow between 5% and 7% in 2025. Now this includes an over 100 basis point negative mix impact from recent acquisitions. Inflationary cost pressures continue to moderate and we're making progress on our Vulcan Way of operating process intelligence adoption.

定價環境依然健康，我們預計 2025 年運費調整後總價格將成長 5% 至 7%。現在，這包括最近的收購帶來的超過 100 個基點的負面組合影響。通膨成本壓力持續緩和，我們在採用 Vulcan Way 營運流程智慧方面正在取得進展。

We expect freight-adjusted aggregates unit cash cost to increase low to mid-single digits in 2025 leading to another year of double-digit year-over-year expansion in our aggregate unit profitability. We expect 2025 aggregate shipments to increase between 3% and 5% compared to last year.

我們預計，到 2025 年，經運費調整後的骨材單位現金成本將成長低至中等個位數，從而導致我們的骨材單位盈利能力再一年實現兩位數的同比增長。我們預計 2025 年總出貨量將比去年增加 3% 至 5%。

This growth outlook is driven by recent acquisitions, coupled with expectation of stable demand for our legacy business. I expect that continued growth in public construction activity will offset ongoing more modest contraction in private activity. Over the last year, trailing 12 months highway starts have increased by another $7 billion to $122 billion.

這一成長前景主要受近期收購以及對我們傳統業務穩定需求的預期所推動。我預期公共建築活動的持續成長將抵消私人建築活動持續溫和的萎縮。去年，高速公路開工金額又增加了 70 億美元，達到 1,220 億美元。

Blowing highway input cost inflation and continued IIJA related spending support ongoing growth in highway shipments in 2025 and beyond. Additionally, $45 billion of funding initiatives were passed at the state and local level in the recent election cycle to spur additional transportation investment in Vulcan states.

高速公路投入成本的大幅上漲和持續的 IIJA 相關支出將支持 2025 年及以後高速公路運輸量的持續成長。此外，在最近的選舉週期中，州和地方通過了 450 億美元的資助計劃，以刺激對火神州的額外交通投資。

Affordability and elevated interest rates remain headwinds for residential construction activity. Increasing single-family starts over the past 12 months support modest growth in single-family housing in 2025. But multifamily (inaudible) data and elevated vacancy rates point to another year of declining demand in multifamily housing.

負擔能力和利率上升仍然是住宅建築活動的阻力。過去 12 個月單戶住宅開工率的提高支撐了 2025 年單戶住宅數量的溫和增長。但多戶住宅（聽不清楚）數據和上升的空置率表明，多戶住宅需求將再下降一年。

Because the demographics in Vulcan markets support a consistent need for additional housing, the timing of additional interest rates, reductions and overall improvement in affordability will dictate when residential construction activity returns to growth. Likewise, a return to growth in private nonresidential construction will also be a matter of timing.

由於瓦爾坎市場的人口統計數據支持對額外住房的持續需求，額外利率、降息和整體負擔能力改善的時機將決定住宅建築活動何時恢復成長。同樣，私人非住宅建築恢復成長也將是時間問題。

While we expect lower private nonresidential demand in 2025. We currently anticipate that starts will bottom by mid-2025 and may begin to recover by the second half of the year boding well for 2026 activity. Recent trends in both warehouse starts and data centers have been encouraging.

但我們預計 2025 年私人非住宅需求將會下降。我們目前預計，開工量將在 2025 年中期觸底，並可能在下半年開始復甦，這對 2026 年的活動來說是一個好兆頭。倉庫開工和資料中心的近期趨勢都令人鼓舞。

Trailing 12-month warehouse starts the largest category in private nonresidential construction have continued to flatten out. We had prepandemic levels after a precipitous drop from historic highs throughout 2023.

過去 12 個月，私人非住宅建築中最大的類別——倉庫開工量繼續趨於平穩。在 2023 年從歷史高點急劇下降之後，我們又回到了疫情前的水平。

We current planned data centers activity in our markets remains robust. And according to CoStar data, approximately 7% of proposed data center activity is within 20 miles of a Vulcan facility. As I said earlier, the focus of our teams is execution, controlling what we can control. Against the demand backdrop I just described, we expect to deliver between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.

我們目前在市場上規劃的資料中心活動依然強勁。根據 CoStar 的數據，約有 7% 的擬建資料中心活動位於 Vulcan 設施 20 英里範圍內。正如我之前所說，我們團隊的重點是執行，控制我們能夠控制的事情。在我剛剛描述的需求背景下，我們預計 2025 年的調整後 EBITDA 將達到 23.5 億美元至 25.5 億美元。

Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2024 performance and more details around our 2025 outlook. Mary Andrews?

現在，我將把電話轉給瑪麗·安德魯斯，讓她就我們 2024 年的表現提供一些額外的評論，並提供有關 2025 年展望的更多細節。瑪麗安德魯斯？

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. I commented a year ago that our balance sheet was a source of strength and provided us considerable financial flexibility to continue to grow. In 2024, we deployed approximately $2.3 billion towards strategic acquisitions.

謝謝，湯姆，早安。我一年前就曾說過，我們的資產負債表是我們力量的源泉，為我們持續成長提供了相當大的財務彈性。2024 年，我們部署了約 23 億美元用於策略性收購。

We also reinvested in our existing franchise and furthered our greenfield efforts with $638 million of operating and maintenance and internal growth capital. And we returned $313 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

我們也對現有特許經營權進行了再投資，並透過 6.38 億美元的營運和維護及內部成長資本進一步推進了綠地擴張計畫。我們透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了 3.13 億美元。

At year end, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage was 2.3 times. In March, we redeemed our 2026 notes at par for $550 million, and in the fourth quarter, we issued $2 billion of notes across 5-, 10- and 30-year tenures to fund our 2024 acquisition activity.

截至年底，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 槓桿率為 2.3 倍。3 月份，我們以面額贖回了 5.5 億美元 2026 年票據，並在第四季發行了 20 億美元期限為 5 年、10 年和 30 年的票據，以資助我們 2024 年的收購活動。

Recently, we provided notice of our intent to redeem the $400 million of 2025 notes with cash on hand, effective March 28 to 2025. Given another year of solid cash generation in 2024, we remain well positioned to continue our long track record of growth through discipline to capital allocation and consistent execution. In 2024, our teams executed well in a challenging volume environment to expand adjusted EBITDA margin by 190 basis points and delivered $2.1 billion of adjusted EBITDA for the full year.

最近，我們發出通知，表示打算用庫存現金贖回 4 億美元的 2025 年票據，有效期從 2025 年 3 月 28 日起。鑑於 2024 年又將實現穩健的現金流，我們仍將透過嚴格的資本配置和持續的執行，繼續保持長期的成長動能。2024 年，我們的團隊在充滿挑戰的業務環境中表現出色，將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 190 個基點，全年實現了 21 億美元的調整後 EBITDA。

Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew by 12% to $10.61, demonstrating the durable compounding nature of the aggregates business and our continued progress toward our $11 to $12 per tonne goal. SAG expenses for the full year were 2% lower than the prior year.

每噸骨材現金毛利成長 12% 至 10.61 美元，證明了骨材業務的持久複合特性以及我們繼續朝著每噸 11 至 12 美元的目標前進。SAG 全年支出比前一年下降了 2%。

We remain focused on continuing to drive value for the business through disciplined investments in SAG expenses to support our organic growth initiatives and innovation through technology. SAG expenses as a percentage of revenue were 7.2% in 2024. Our return on invested capital at year end was 16.2%, largely consistent with the prior year.

我們將繼續專注於透過對 SAG 費用進行嚴格的投資來繼續為業務創造價值，以支持我們的有機成長計劃和技術創新。2024 年 SAG 支出佔收入的百分比為 7.2%。我們年底的投資資本報酬率為 16.2%，與前一年基本一致。

The increase in invested capital was driven by fourth quarter acquisitions which provided very little earnings contribution given the closing date. Absent that timing impact, return on invested capital improved 40 basis points.

投資資本的增加主要是由於第四季度的收購，但考慮到截止日期，收購對收益的貢獻非常小。除去時間影響，投資資本報酬率提高了 40 個基點。

Carrying strong momentum into 2025, we anticipate another year of attractive margin expansion and earnings growth. Tom highlighted our views around demand, pricing and aggregates unit profitability. So let me provide a few additional details around the 2025 guidance.

憑藉強勁的發展勢頭，我們預計 2025 年將再次實現利潤率和盈利的可觀增長。湯姆強調了我們對需求、定價和總單位獲利能力的看法。因此，讓我提供有關 2025 年指導的一些更多細節。

We estimate that recent acquisitions will contribute approximately $150 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2025. We expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $360 million in cash gross profit with an estimated two-thirds of the contribution from the asphalt segment and one-third from the Concrete segment.

我們估計，最近的收購將在 2025 年貢獻約 1.5 億美元的調整後 EBITDA。我們預計下游業務將貢獻約 3.6 億美元的現金毛利，其中約三分之二來自瀝青部門，三分之一來自混凝土部門。

These expectations reflect expansion in cash unit profitability in both segments and the contribution of recent acquisitions. We forecast SAG expenses of between $550 million and $560 million. We project depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion expenses of approximately $800 million, interest expense of approximately $245 million and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23%.

這些預期反映了兩個部門現金部門獲利能力的擴大以及近期收購的貢獻。我們預測 SAG 的支出將在 5.5 億美元至 5.6 億美元之間。我們預計折舊、耗竭、攤提和累積費用約為 8 億美元，利息支出約為 2.45 億美元，有效稅率在 22% 至 23% 之間。

In 2025, we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures between $750 million and $800 million. Included in this plan is approximately $125 million of spending on three sizable plant rebuild projects that are underway in addition to capital for recently acquired businesses. Overall, we expect 2025 to mark another year of expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin, attractive growth in adjusted EBITDA and strong cash generation.

2025 年，我們計劃透過營運維護和內部成長資本支出 7.5 億至 8 億美元對我們的特許經營權進行再投資。該計劃包括對正在進行的三個大型工廠重建項目投入約 1.25 億美元，以及對最近收購的企業的資本投入。整體而言，我們預計 2025 年將是調整後 EBITDA 利潤率再次擴張、調整後 EBITDA 實現可觀成長和現金創造能力強勁的一年。

I'll now turn the call back over to Tom to provide a few closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆，讓他作幾點結束語。

Thank you, Mary Andrews. I want to take a moment to thank the men and women of Vulcan Materials for your consistent and enduring commitment to excellence. Most importantly, you kept one other safe and looked out for your brothers and sisters across the company and the communities in which we live and work, particularly in the face of persistent inclement and sometimes severe weather.

謝謝你，瑪麗安德魯斯。我想花點時間感謝 Vulcan Materials 的員工們，感謝你們對卓越的一貫和持久的承諾。最重要的是，您保護了彼此的安全，並照顧了公司和我們生活和工作的社區中的兄弟姐妹，特別是在面對持續惡劣甚至有時十分危險的天氣時。

And I am so proud of your consistent execution of the work we operate in the Vulcan Way of selling strategic disciplines. You proved your metal and increased cash gross profit per ton every quarter for the second year in a row.

我為您始終如一地執行我們按照 Vulcan Way 推銷策略學科的工作感到非常自豪。您證明了您的金屬實力，並且連續第二年每季每噸現金毛利都有所增加。

I'm excited about what we will achieve in 2025. Together, we remain focused on controlling what we can control and drive value for our customers, our communities and our shareholders. And now Mary Andrew and I will be happy to take your questions.

我對我們在 2025 年將取得的成就感到興奮。我們將繼續共同專注於控制我們能夠控制的事情，並為我們的客戶、社區和股東創造價值。現在，瑪麗安德魯和我很樂意回答大家的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Trey Grooms, Stephens.

（操作員指示）Trey Grooms，Stephens。

Yes, well done on the strong finish to the year. I wanted to ask on aggregates pricing. It seems like some markets have seen a shift from January to April as far as just the timing. Can you talk about a little bit about that and maybe it's the success of January increases that you've seen? And how we should be thinking about maybe the cadence of pricing this year?

是的，祝賀這一年圓滿結束。我想詢問骨材定價。就時間而言，似乎一些市場從一月到四月已經發生了變化。您能否稍微談論一下這一點？我們該如何考慮今年的定價節奏？

Sure, Trey. So Q4 in the total year last year went with pricing up 11%. So that allows us to carry really good pricing momentum into this year. As you saw, our guide is 5% to 7%, but that's also negatively impacted over 100 basis points by the acquisitions. I'm not worried about those.

當然，特雷。因此，去年第四季的價格上漲了 11%。這使我們能夠在今年保持良好的定價動能。正如您所看到的，我們的預期是 5% 到 7%，但收購也對其產生了超過 100 個基點的負面影響。我並不擔心這些。

We'll get those back up to our average quickly. But our January 1 price increases, you couple that with our booking and backlogs I think it supports our guide. As did -- I thought our January results, our '25 results. The timing of price increases, I think, will be very similar to last year. whether it was in bid work or asphalt or ready-mix price increases, the vast majority of our price increases took effect January 1.

我們會很快讓其恢復到平均水平。但是我們的 1 月 1 日價格上漲，再加上我們的預訂和積壓，我認為這可以支持我們的指南。正如我所想的，我們的 1 月份業績，我們的 25 年業績。我認為，價格上漲的時間將與去年非常相似。無論是投標工作，還是瀝青或預拌混凝土的價格上漲，絕大多數價格上漲均於 1 月 1 日生效。

I think we should -- we would guide you to -- I think we'll be in the range quarter to quarter throughout the year. Now remember, mix can impact a single quarter. It can impact it up or down. but mix adjusted, I think we should be consistently in that 5% to 7% range.

我認為我們應該 - 我們會指導您 - 我認為我們將全年各個季度都處於這個範圍內。現在請記住，組合可能會影響一個季度。它可能會對其產生向上或向下的影響。但經過組合調整後，我認為我們應該始終保持在 5% 到 7% 的範圍內。

Yes. And Trey, I would add that most importantly, we expect that the consistent pricing improvement, coupled with moderating costs that we talked about in the prepared remarks, will yield low double-digit improvement in cash gross profit per ton consistently each quarter as well. extending what we've now strung together a nine-quarter run on double-digit improvement.

是的。特雷，我想補充一點，最重要的是，我們預計持續的價格改善，加上我們在準備好的評論中談到的成本適度，將使每噸現金毛利每個季度持續實現低兩位數的增長。我們已連續九個季度實現兩位數的成長。

And really, the underlying performance of the aggregates business is going to be the biggest driver of our 2025 EBITDA growth, which we expect going to improve by about 12% on an organic basis. So really expecting a strong performance from the Ag segment.

事實上，骨材業務的基本表現將成為我們 2025 年 EBITDA 成長的最大驅動力，我們預計其有機成長將達到約 12%。因此我們確實期待農業領域有強勁的表現。

Steven Fisher, UBS.

瑞銀的史蒂文·費雪。

I think you mentioned on the aggregates volume side, an organic steady pace. So I'm assuming that means about flat organic volumes expectation, if that's correct? And feel free to correct me on that. But just curious about the cadence of how that plays out during the year, and we've been observing this slowdown in overall nonres construction. And you mentioned the private side being a little weak to start off.

我認為您提到了總量方面有機穩定的步伐。所以我假設這意味著有機銷售量預期持平，如果正確的話？請隨意糾正我。但我們只是好奇這種情況在年內的發展節奏，我們一直在觀察整體非住宅建設的放緩。您剛才提到私人方面一開始有點弱。

So just curious what you've assumed for the cadence of that organic trend in the first half of the year versus the second half? Do you have actual declines maybe in the first half before maybe easier comps and growth in the second half?

所以我很好奇，您對上半年和下半年這種有機趨勢的節奏有何看法？你們的業績是否可能在上半年出現實際下滑，而在下半年出現更容易的年比和成長？

Yes. I think you completely understand it. It is growing public offsetting some challenged private. If you look back at '24, we really never got out of the weather problem. The easiest comp to your point is Q3.

是的。我想你完全理解了。公共部門的不斷增長抵消了私人部門面臨的一些挑戰。如果回顧 24 年，我們確實從未擺脫過天氣問題。與您的觀點最相符的是 Q3。

If you look at January, February, we got a slow start. Some of that is coal and wet weather. But remember, it's just January and February. So I'm not too worried about that. I think regardless of the challenges our vulcan teams will perform.

如果你看看一月和二月，我們起步比較緩慢。其中一些原因是煤炭和潮濕天氣。但請記住，現在只是一月和二月。所以我對此並不太擔心。我認為無論我們的 Vulcan 團隊面臨什麼挑戰都會是如此。

I think I have complete confidence in our full year guide. But as you said, back half loaded, probably with some easier comps, coupled with probably some help from single-family and nonres construction in the second half.

我認為我對我們的全年指南充滿信心。但正如你所說的那樣，後半部分已經負擔過重，可能會有一些更容易的補償，再加上下半年可能從獨戶住宅和非住宅建設中獲得一些幫助。

Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

凱瑟琳·湯普森，湯普森研究小組。

So your volume guidance in the quarter was very close to ours pricing exactly in line, but what jumps out at me is -- and correct me if I'm wrong with this, that your gross margins came in at a record Q4 level. Could you -- you've articulated in the past the bulk of way operations.

因此，您本季的銷售預期與我們的定價非常接近，但讓我印象深刻的是——如果我錯了，請糾正我，您的毛利率達到了創紀錄的第四季度水平。您能否—您過去曾闡明大部分的運作方式。

But if you could parse out a little bit more for this quarter and project how we should think about next year in terms of that margin of the why behind that record for Q4, the components and how that plays into the longer-term strategy, including for this year?

但是，如果您可以對本季度的情況進行更深入的分析，並預測我們應該如何看待明年的情況，即第四季度創下紀錄的原因、組成部分以及這對長期戰略（包括今年的戰略）有何影響？

Sure. Our cost increase in the fourth quarter was much improved over the past three quarters, three reasons why. One was weather was not a negative; two, volumes were not as negative. And three, Vulcan Way of operating technology and tools and disciplines or improving our efficiencies. And as we look to 2025, we believe we'll continue to mature the Vulcan Way of operating, which will continue to enhance our operating efficiencies.

當然。我們第四季的成本成長情況比過去三個季度有了很大改善，原因有三。一是天氣不是負面因素；二、交易量並沒有那麼負面。第三，Vulcan 操作技術、工具和學科的方式，或者說提高我們的效率。展望 2025 年，我們相信我們將繼續完善 Vulcan 營運方式，這將繼續提高我們的營運效率。

We would guide you to the low to mid-single-digit increases in 2025. That is a substantial improvement over the past couple of years, but really back closer to what we've seen in history. So I think what you're seeing is the Vulcan Way of operating at work and offsetting some of the headwinds we would see.

我們將為您預測 2025 年的低至中個位數成長。與過去幾年相比，這是一個顯著的進步，但實際上已經更接近歷史水平。所以我認為，您所看到的是 Vulcan 的工作運作方式，它可以抵消我們將遇到的一些不利因素。

And Catherine, on gross margin, we saw improvement on a year-over-year basis each quarter in 2024. That's what I would expect for you to see in 2025. I think in terms of the cadence of gross margin, I would think about it, it's typically lowest obviously, in Q1, highest in Q2 or Q3, we did have an outstanding fourth quarter and plan to carry that momentum into 2025.

凱瑟琳，就毛利率而言，我們看到 2024 年每季的毛利率年比都有所提高。這就是我希望你在 2025 年看到的。我認為就毛利率的節奏而言，我會考慮這一點，通常顯然在第一季度毛利率最低，在第二季度或第三季度最高，但我們的第四季度確實表現優異，併計劃將這一勢頭延續到 2025 年。

Anthony Pettinari, Citi.

花旗銀行的安東尼‧佩蒂納裡 (Anthony Pettinari)

This is Asher (inaudible) on for Anthony. I just wanted to ask around administrative policy. Have you seen any pressure on the pace of IAG rollout or project starts from any of the policy decisions or expected orders we've seen? And then on tariffs, what impact your business we could expect potentially?

這是 Asher（聽不清楚），代替 Anthony。我只是想問行政政策。您是否看到我們所看到的任何政策決定或預期訂單對 IAG 推出或專案啟動的速度造成壓力？那麼關於關稅，我們預計這可能會對您的業務產生什麼影響？

So I don't think we see any impact from policy on the public demand. It's IIJA, which you're seeing is the growth in public going to work. And remember that money is protected through dedicated long-term funding. So nothing is going to happen to it. Looking forward, we would think this government will support traditional aggregate intensitive public work legislature.

因此我認為我們不會看到政策對公眾需求產生任何影響。正是 IIJA，您所看到的是公眾上班人數的成長。請記住，資金是透過專門的長期資金來保護的。所以不會有什麼事發生。展望未來，我們認為本屆政府將支持傳統的總量密集型公共工程立法。

So probably a positive from that perspective on tariffs. On aggregate tariffs directly, we see very little impact on everything else, and we've looked at steel and rubber, I'm not sure anyone can tell you what's going to happen. But I don't think it's a big impact to us. And the flip side of that is I'm confident that Vulcan Materials teams will navigate whatever comes at us.

因此從這個角度來看，關稅可能會出現正面影響。就總關稅而言，我們看到它對其他產品的影響非常小，我們研究了鋼鐵和橡膠，我不確定有人能告訴你會發生什麼。但我不認為這對我們造成很大的影響。另一方面，我相信 Vulcan Materials 團隊能夠應對任何挑戰。

Look, we've seen a pandemic, we've seen volumes down, we've see record inflation, and our teams consistently grow unit margins and earnings, and that's exactly why we develop Vulcan Way of selling and Vulcan Way of operating so that we can consistently grow our unit profitability regardless of any outside challenges.

看，我們經歷了疫情，經歷了銷售下降，經歷了創紀錄的通貨膨脹，而我們的團隊卻在不斷提高單位利潤率和收益，這正是我們開發 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 運營方式的原因，這樣無論面臨什麼外部挑戰，我們都能持續提高單位盈利能力。

So the government, I think, supports infrastructure, and I don't think we'll handle whatever comes out on the tariffs.

因此，我認為政府支持基礎設施建設，但我認為我們不會處理與關稅有關的任何問題。

Jerry Revich, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的傑瑞·雷維奇（Jerry Revich）。

I just wanted to pull the thread on the cost performance. If we back out the period cost absorption, your variable costs per ton were essentially flat in the quarter. So I'm wondering if you could just expand on what part of your cost structure is actually deflationary now.

我只是想簡單談談性價比。如果我們退出期間成本吸收，則每噸變動成本在本季基本持平。所以我想知道您是否可以詳細說明現在您的成本結構中哪些部分實際上是通貨緊縮的。

And if we just straight line the performance into the first quarter with normal seasonality, that would imply cost per ton are about flat year over year in the first quarter, which I just want to make sure that's right, considering the pricing outlook relative to that is pretty attractive.

如果我們將第一季的表現與正常的季節性直接聯繫起來，那就意味著第一季度每噸成本與去年同期基本持平，我只是想確保這是正確的，因為相對於這一點的定價前景相當有吸引力。

I think I'll take that one. I think I would not call costs flat. I would call them up mid- to single digit, and I think pretty consistently through the year. Now remember, quarter to quarter, cost is going to be choppy is just the nature of the beast. So really need to look at it on a trailing 12-month basis.

我想我會選擇那個。我認為我不會稱成本為固定的。我認為他們的數字將在中等到個位數之間，而且我認為全年的數字都相當穩定。現在請記住，每個季度，成本都會波動，這只是自然規律。因此確實需要根據過去 12 個月的情況來看待它。

Fourth quarter was encouraging, but we've got to stream that together. If you look at inflation, I don't think there's any deflation on anything out there that I can think of. As we guide to '25, I would tell you, diesel up slightly.

第四季的表現令人鼓舞，但我們必須齊心協力。如果你看一下通貨膨脹，我認為不存在任何我能想到的通貨緊縮的情況。當我們引導到'25時，我會告訴你，柴油價格會略有上漲。

Wages mid-single-digit, electricity up high single digit and all of that partially offset by improved operating efficiencies. So -- but I would not guide you to flat. I think you would stay in that longer term, that low- to mid-single-digit cost performance.

薪資成長了中等個位數，電費成長了高個位數，但所有這些影響都被營運效率的提高所部分抵消。所以——但我不會引導你走向平坦。我認為從長遠來看，你會維持這種低到中等個位數的成本績效。

Angel Castillo, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的安吉爾‧卡斯蒂略 (Angel Castillo)。

Just wanted to go back to the comments on private nonresi. You talked about potential for starts to move bottom in the middle of the year and maybe even rebound in the second half. Can you just maybe help us understand, I guess, what you're seeing or hearing, whether it's from your customers or in terms of quoting activity and maybe just what gives you confidence on that a cadence.

只是想回到對私人非居住地的評論。您談到了開工量在年中觸底、甚至在下半年反彈的可能性。我想，您能否幫助我們了解您所看到或聽到的內容，無論是來自您的客戶還是從報價活動的角度來看，也許只是一些讓您對這種節奏充滿信心的東西。

Yes. So I think let me be clear, I think we do see nonresidential construction and shipments are still down in 2025. I think the good news is we're starting to see some turn in that performance. data centers will be a bright spot and most of the planned data centers are in our footprint. And while warehouses has been a big drag and will be still a drag in the near future.

是的。所以我想說清楚一點，我認為我們確實看到 2025 年非住宅建築和出貨量仍然下降。我認為好消息是我們開始看到表現有所改善。資料中心將是一個亮點，大多數計劃中的資料中心都在我們的覆蓋範圍內。而倉庫一直是一大拖累因素，在不久的將來仍會是拖累因素。

I think that's changing. And if you look at a number of our markets on a trailing three-month basis, we've seen that turn positive, not everywhere, but it's starting to turn. So -- and then -- so I think you're starting to see some green shoots. I think you starting to see some things turn. There's a lot of money sitting on the sidelines.

我認為這種情況正在改變。如果您查看過去三個月我們的多個市場，我們會發現這種情況正在朝著好的方向轉變，雖然不是所有地方，但已經開始轉變了。所以 — — 然後 — — 所以我認為你開始看到一些復甦的跡象。我想你開始看到一些事情開始轉變。有大量資金處於觀望狀態。

Light traditional nonres is still a drag, but that's going to follow a subdivision. So it's going to take a while. So while nonresidential construction will be negative in 2025, we think it should gradually get better as we progress through the year, which sets us up for a more positive outlook at this point, very preliminary for 2026.

輕型傳統非住宅仍然是一個拖累，但這將隨之細分。所以這還需要一段時間。因此，儘管 2025 年非住宅建築將出現負增長，但我們認為隨著時間的推移，情況應該會逐漸好轉，這為我們目前的更為積極的前景奠定了基礎，對 2026 年的前景進行了非常初步的預測。

That's helpful. And anything in the quoting activity that you're seeing?

這很有幫助。您在引用活動中看到了什麼嗎？

Yes. So we're -- there's -- that's interesting. I'm glad you asked that. For the last six months, we've quoted a lot of non-res work that has -- that is still sitting on the sideline. So we think there's pent-up demand there.

是的。所以我們 — — 這很有趣。我很高興你問這個問題。在過去的六個月裡，我們引用了大量非房地產工作，這些工作仍然處於擱置狀態。因此我們認為那裡存在著被壓抑的需求。

But I think people want to see more. They're hoping interest rates go down and -- but that's good news because at some point in time, that money will go to work.

但我認為人們希望看到更多。他們希望利率下降——但這是好消息，因為在某個時間點，這些錢將會發揮作用。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的 Phil Ng。

Tom, congrats on another strong quarter. I have a few questions around the pricing commentary. You talked about 100 basis points drag on price mix from these recent deals. Can you give us a sense how much lower is ASP for some of these deals versus the corporate average? And how quick do you think you can narrow that over time?

湯姆，恭喜你又一個季度表現強勁。我對定價評論有幾個疑問。您談到了最近的這些交易對價格組合造成了 100 個基點的拖累。您能否告訴我們，這些交易的平均售價相對於企業平均售價低多少？您認為隨著時間的推移，您能多快縮小這個範圍？

So it's substantially lower. I mean, and I'm not going to quote numbers on that, but if it had over 100 basis points on the whole company, it is lower. We've already started that work.

因此，其數字明顯較低。我的意思是，我不會引用具體數字，但是如果整個公司的利潤超過 100 個基點，那麼這個數字就會更低。我們已經開始了這項工作。

I think we were successful with January price increases in those markets, and we'll continue that as progress through the next few quarters and years. I don't think it takes us long to get it back up to where a more reasonable Vulcan market would look like.

我認為我們在一月份對這些市場的價格上漲取得了成功，並且我們將在接下來的幾個季度和幾年裡繼續這一舉措。我認為我們很快就能讓 Vulcan 市場恢復到更合理的狀態。

Okay. And then separately, from a pricing standpoint, if account for the 100 basis points, you're still talking about really good pricing, but perhaps a little softer than the high single-digit framework you gave us last quarter.

好的。然後，另外從定價的角度來看，如果考慮到 100 個基點，您仍然在談論真正好的定價，但可能比上個季度給我們的高個位數框架稍微軟一些。

Any puts and takes you want to give us a little more color because it doesn't sound like timing is a real issue for you Jan versus April like your competitors. So just give us some puts and takes on perhaps what you're seeing in the marketplace on pricing.

您是否希望向我們提供更多細節，因為聽起來，對於您和競爭對手來說，一月與四月的時間安排並不是一個真正的問題。因此，請就您在市場上看到的定價給我們一些看法。

I think we were pretty consistent throughout our geographies on price increases, same thing with end users. The -- I think you got to remember, you're a little lower than double-digit, maybe same-store, high single digit. You also are not looking at double-digit cost increases.

我認為我們各個地區的價格上漲都是相當一致的，最終用戶的價格上漲也是如此。——我想你必須記住，你的銷售額略低於兩位數，也許是同店銷售額，高個位數。您還沒有看到兩位數的成本成長。

You're looking at mid to low. So we continue that trend of taking money to the bottom line, which is the most important thing we can do is grow our unit margins by double digits. You've seen us do that over the last couple of years, and I think you'll see us do that. That's what our guide is for 2025. And I think we feel pretty good about it.

您看到的是中低檔。因此，我們繼續將資金投入底線的趨勢，我們能做的最重要的事情就是將我們的單位利潤率提高兩位數。在過去的幾年裡，你們已經看到我們這樣做了，我想你們還會看到我們這樣做。這就是我們的2025年指南。我認為我們對此感覺非常好。

Mike Dahl, RBC.

加拿大皇家銀行 (RBC) 的 Mike Dahl。

Tom (inaudible), you obviously put a lot of capital to work with the acquisitions. They did come with some mix of downstream businesses. Can you help us understand how you view the downstream portion, whether those are businesses that are likely to stay within the portfolio and what is or is not incorporated into the guide with respect to that?

湯姆（聽不清楚），你顯然在收購上投入了大量資金。他們確實帶來了一些下游業務。您能否幫助我們了解您如何看待下游部分，這些業務是否有可能保留在投資組合中，以及指南中是否包含這些內容？

So the acquisitions are pretty new. They were very successfully run with good management team and good assets. Like anything else, we're going to look at this as a set of assets. And if it fits us, we'll run it earns an appropriate return that suits us well run it. If it is more valuable to someone else, then we'll divest of that, and we'll take those proceeds and put them back in the aggregates business.

因此這些收購都是相當新的。他們憑藉著優秀的管理團隊和優良的資產，經營得非常成功。像其他任何事物一樣，我們將其視為一組資產。如果它適合我們，我們就會運行它並賺取適合我們的適當回報。如果它對其他人更有價值，那麼我們就會剝離它，並將這些收益重新投入骨料業務。

And in terms of the guide, Mike, the guide assumes we own the businesses like we do, maybe for a little helpful context for you. We commented in the prepared remarks that there's $150 million of EBITDA contribution from the acquisitions. That's about 60% in the aggregate segment and about 40% of that would be contributing to the downstream businesses.

就指南而言，麥克，指南假設我們擁有這些企業，也許可以為您提供一些有用的信息。我們在準備好的評論中評論說，此次收購將帶來 1.5 億美元的 EBITDA 貢獻。這約佔總體部分的 60%，其中約 40% 將用於下游業務。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當塔希默、湯普森戴維斯。

Congrats on the Q4 beat. Mary Andrews, do you have the -- well, I was also curious about the downstream portion because that was a pretty big increase year over year. So that looks like it's from acquisitions. I was curious if you have the $360 million is cash gross profit. Do you have that on a reported basis?

恭喜第四季取得成功。瑪麗安德魯斯，您有——嗯，我也對下游部分很好奇，因為與去年相比，下游部分的增長相當大。所以這看起來像是從收購而來。我很好奇您是否有 3.6 億美元的現金毛利。據報道，您有這個狀況嗎？

We're -- I'm going to list stick with the $360 million for now, and we can talk offline about some more specific. But maybe what would be helpful to you is the improvement in the cash gross profit contribution from the downstream businesses, about 75% of that overall improvement is from the acquisitions. We also see improvement in the underlying business in both segments, and that's about 25% of the improvement year over year.

我們 — — 我現在將列出 3.6 億美元，然後我們可以離線討論一些更具體的事項。但也許對您有幫助的是下游業務現金毛利貢獻的提高，其中約 75% 的整體提高來自收購。我們也看到兩個部門的基礎業務都有改善，較去年同期成長約 25%。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

坦納斯（Timna Tanners），沃爾夫研究公司（Wolfe Research）。

Wanted to ask you a little bit about the M&A landscape after the deal who just finished what -- how you're looking at 2025, if it could build from what you just accomplished. And then if I could sneak in a question on Mexico, any update on the (inaudible) respitation efforts with the USMCA panel.

想問您一些關於剛完成的交易之後的併購前景的問題——您對 2025 年有什麼看法，以及它是否可以從您剛剛完成的事情上繼續發展。然後，如果我可以偷偷問一個關於墨西哥的問題，請問您有關 USMCA 小組（聽不清楚）喘息努力的任何進展。

Yes. So I think there's still a very healthy pipeline of M&A. There's a number of projects we're working on. It'll take some -- it will take some time, but I think we'll continue to be successful with that as we go through 2025. On Mexico, I think the short answer there is no real news there.

是的。因此我認為併購通路仍然非常健康。我們正在進行多個項目。這需要一些時間，但我認為，在 2025 年之前，我們會繼續取得成功。關於墨西哥，我認為簡而言之，那裡沒有真正的新聞。

We're still waiting on the tribunal to make a decision. We feel very good about our case, and I think we will win that. And we'll -- when they make a decision, we'll let you guys know. We are anticipating that sometime this year.

我們仍在等待法庭作出裁決。我們對我們的案子感到非常滿意，我認為我們會贏。當他們做出決定時，我們會通知你們。我們預計這將在今年某個時候發生。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

You spoke to the pricing cadence being similar this year as opposed to last. So I would love to hear your thoughts on your increases, what opportunities you see there potentially in what the time frame could be?

您說過今年的定價節奏與去年相似。所以我很想聽聽您對加薪的想法，您認為在什麼時間範圍內可能存在哪些機會？

Yes. So they are not included in our guide, but we will absolutely announce midyear price increases. We will announce those probably towards the end of the first quarter, so we got time down those conversations.

是的。因此它們不包括在我們的指南中，但我們絕對會宣布年中價格上漲。我們大概會在第一季末宣布這些消息，所以我們有時間進行這些討論。

Again, as I always remind you, midyears will have a better impact on 2026 than they will in 2025. But you'll -- it's too early to call how successful those will be, but we'll, for sure, going to announce then we'll have conversations with our customers, and we'll see where we go from there.

再次，正如我一直提醒你的那樣，中期業績對 2026 年的影響將比對 2025 年的影響更大。但是現在判斷這些會取得多大成功還為時過早，但我們肯定會宣布，然後我們會與我們的客戶進行對話，看看我們會走向何方。

Great. Do you have by chance how much 2024 midyears are impacting 2025.

偉大的。您是否知道 2024 年中期資料對 2025 年的影響有多大？

Well, that's a really hard to parse out. They definitely had an impact. I think we're pleased with. Part of the things that they do is help you give notice to your customers, so they have more time to react, which allows us to be more successful for January 1. So some of it is amplitude the price and some of it is timing, but it definitely helps both.

嗯，這確實很難解析。它們確實產生了影響。我想我們很滿意。他們所做的事情之一是幫助您通知客戶，以便他們有更多的時間做出反應，這使我們在 1 月 1 日取得更大的成功。因此，其中一些是價格幅度，有些是時機，但它肯定對兩者都有幫助。

Keith Hughes, Truist.

基斯·休斯，Truist。

I'll ask a short-term weather question that everybody asked me (inaudible) the day is weather been supportive of shipments? Or have we still had delays year over year or some of the storm activity.

我要問一個每個人都問我的短期天氣問題（聽不清楚）當天的天氣是否有利於運輸？或者我們仍會遭遇年復一年的延誤或一些風暴活動。

So short term in January, February has been very cold. We're going to see that this week with cold and snow. So not a great start. But when we put a plan together, we expect weather impact at some point in time in the year, and we expect to get lucky in some quarters.

因此從一月到二月的短期來看，天氣非常冷。本週我們將會看到寒冷和降雪。所以這不是一個好的開始。但是，當我們制定計劃時，我們預計一年中的某個時間點會受到天氣影響，並且我們預計會在某些季度獲得好運。

But we tried to look at more normalized weather as we make a prediction and in our guidance, I think as we pointed out, Q3 was particularly challenged last year. Hopefully, that will be easy comp in the middle of the season. So hopefully, that will help us, ex hurricanes.

但我們在做出預測和指導時試圖觀察更正常的天氣，我認為正如我們所指出的那樣，去年第三季尤其面臨挑戰。希望在賽季中期這將是一場輕鬆的比賽。所以希望這能對我們有所幫助，除颶風外。

And one other question on the Southern California acquisition. Is that -- particularly the downstream is that mix and (inaudible) current operations at broken? Or does that operate more as a stand-alone entity?

還有一個關於南加州收購的問題。這是－特別是下游的混合和（聽不清楚）當前操作是否中斷？或者說它更像是一個獨立實體在運作？

So if you look at the overall, it fits us very well. particularly on aggregate perspective, we don't have a lot of downstream ready mix in those markets, but it also has some asphalt with it. So part of it fits in aggregates and asphalt as far as us being there and then the ready-mix, they have an excellent position in those markets, but we were not in the ready-mix business in those markets.

所以如果從整體來看，它非常適合我們。特別是從整體角度來看，我們在這些市場上沒有很多下游預拌混凝土，但也有一些瀝青。因此，就我們而言，其中一部分適用於骨材和瀝青，然後是預拌混凝土，他們在這些市場中佔據有利地位，但我們並沒有在這些市場從事預拌混凝土業務。

Brent Thielman, D.A. Davidson.

布倫特·蒂爾曼（Brent Thielman），地區檢察官戴維森。

Tom, I have a question more on maybe the direct impact of tariffs on your business and in Mexico is not really in the conversation, but I was thinking more along the West Coast and what Vulcan's response is going to be to the extent that tariffs are implemented on some of your assets shipping down in Canada.

湯姆，我更想問的是關稅對貴公司業務的直接影響，而墨西哥的問題並不是我們真正要討論的話題，但我更多地考慮的是西海岸的情況，以及如果對你們運往加拿大的部分資產徵收關稅，Vulcan 將作何反應。

Well, I think our -- we'll follow the letter of the law. We've looked at that. It is a pretty negligible impact for us. and whatever it is, we'll handle in the business. But I wouldn't -- it doesn't move the needle.

嗯，我想我們會遵守法律規定。我們已經看過了。對我們來說這影響微不足道。無論是什麼，我們都會妥善處理。但我不會——它不會產生任何影響。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research.

邁克爾·杜達斯（Michael Dudas），垂直研究。

Tom, with the very solid pricing, it looks like for 2025, even (inaudible) for 2024, do you sense this is -- even like say, your organic volumes are flat and flattish on the overall market. Does this look like maybe a more normalized level of pricing relative to history spend? Or is there still room for upside on that going forward?

湯姆，由於定價非常穩定，看起來到 2025 年，甚至（聽不清楚）到 2024 年，您是否感覺到——即使比如說，您的有機銷售在整個市場上都是持平的。相對於歷史支出，這看起來是否像是更正常化的定價水準？或者未來還有上漲空間？

Yes. I think that there's always upside on price. You've got to earn that with your customers. Obviously, growing demand always helps that. and we haven't seen growing demand now for a few years, which puts some pressure on price.

是的。我認為價格總是有上漲空間的。你必須透過與顧客合作來贏得這項優勢。顯然，不斷增長的需求總是有助於實現這一點。而且我們已經有幾年沒有看到需求成長了，這給價格帶來了一些壓力。

But I think if you look at the bulk of where selling and the way we service our customers. I think we earn price, and I think we're doing that. And I think you see that in our performance in '24 and our guide in '25.

但我認為，如果你看看大部分的銷售情況和我們為客戶提供服務的方式。我認為我們賺取了價格，我認為我們正在這樣做。我想您可以從我們 24 年的表現和 25 年的指導中看到這一點。

(Operator Instructions) David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

（操作員指示）大衛·麥格雷戈（David MacGregor），長弓研究公司。

Congratulations on a really strong quarter. Great performance I wanted to ask you about pricing in the Vulcan Way of selling. And clearly, this process has been very successful and that delivered some very visible results.

恭喜您本季業績表現強勁。出色的表現，我想向您詢問有關 Vulcan 銷售方式的定價問題。顯然，這一進程非常成功，並且取得了一些非常明顯的成果。

But as your markets evolve, and I'm thinking, for example, of your ready-mix and fixed plant customers who in many instances are now paying more for their limestone than they are for the cement. And then, I guess, secondly, your Vulcan Way of operating process.

但隨著市場的發展，我想到，例如，您的預拌混凝土和固定工廠客戶，在許多情況下，他們為石灰石支付的費用比為水泥支付的費用還要高。然後，我想，其次，就是你的 Vulcan Way 操作流程。

It's giving you better incremental costs. the profitability algorithm adjust at some point to rely on slightly smaller price increases in favor of larger unitship gains that are achieved maybe in the way of market share gains from competitors who are continuing to push hard on price increases.

它會為你帶來更好的增量成本。獲利能力演算法會在某些時候進行調整，依靠略小幅度的價格上漲來獲得更大的單位收益，而這種收益可能是透過競爭對手繼續大力推行價格上漲來獲得市場份額而實現的。

Yes. Well, let me be clear. I wish we had some net pricing. We don't. It's much lower than cement pricing, but also that cost is much lower.

是的。好吧，讓我說清楚。我希望我們有一些淨定價。我們沒有。這比水泥定價要低得多，而且成本也低得多。

I think that as you look forward, I think the -- I would go back to the strategic initiatives of Vulcan Way of selling and Vulcan Way of operating. Vulcan Way of selling allows you a much in-depth -- much better in-depth look into what's going on in the market. and gives your sales people the tools to price better and also gives them logistics and other tools to better service your customers.

我認為，當你展望未來時，我會回顧 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式的策略性舉措。Vulcan 銷售方式讓您更深入、更深入了解市場動態。並為您的銷售人員提供更優惠的定價工具，同時為他們提供物流和其他工具，以便更好地服務您的客戶。

I think on the Vulcan Way of operating, it allows for better training and better operators and how we inspect our equipment and reduce downtime. And also the technology allows for better throughput and throughput of critical sizes.

我認為 Vulcan 的操作方式能夠提供更好的培訓、更好的操作員以及更好的設備檢查方式，並減少停機時間。而且該技術還可以實現更好的吞吐量和關鍵尺寸的吞吐量。

You put those two together, and I think both of them have a lot better chance of beating history, both the sales piece and the operating piece, which leads you to better opportunities on unit margin growth that again will be history, and you've seen us do that over the last nine quarters, a double-digit improvement.

如果你把這兩者結合起來，我認為它們都有更大的機會打破歷史紀錄，無論是銷售額還是營運額，這都會為你帶來更好的單位利潤率成長機會，這又將創造歷史，而且你已經看到我們在過去九個季度中做到了這一點，實現了兩位數的成長。

So that's not happening by accident, and it doesn't have -- by accident going forward. Again, if you -- that's over time frames when volumes have actually gone down. This year, we call it flat. But when volumes come back, you have a better opportunity to improve your unit margins, both on the price side and on the cost side.

所以這不是偶然發生的，而且它也不會偶然繼續下去。再說一次，如果您 — — 這是在時間段內交易量實際上已經下降的情況。今年，我們稱之為平緩。但當銷售回升時，你就有更好的機會提高單位利潤率，無論是在價格方面還是在成本方面。

It appears we have no further questions in the queue. I will turn the program back over to our presenters for any additional or closing remarks.

看來我們沒有其他問題了。我將把節目交還給主持人，以便他們發表任何補充言論或結束語。

Yes. Thank you for your time and your interest in Vulcan Materials today. We appreciate the relationship. We hope that you and your families stay safe, particularly with all the weather we're having, and we look forward to talking to you throughout the quarter. Thank you.

是的。感謝您今天抽出時間並對 Vulcan Materials 感興趣。我們珍惜雙方的合作關係。我們希望您和您的家人保持安全，特別是在我們遇到的這種天氣情況下，我們期待在整個季度與您交談。謝謝。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連線。