Bozeman Build Report #19
June 26th - July 1st 2024
Howdy makers of Montana
Welcome back to the Bozeman Build Report covering trade related activities happening in Montana and around the Northern Rockies. Todays rage in the sage is about Costco fuel sales, slap together spec, Uhaul throwbacks, Montana hay production, Big Sky Country music, and modular multi family. Enjoy the next 5 minutes of some Montana blue collar related updates. Happy July and enjoy the next 5 minutes of recent developments.
Construction progress of the “Kestrel” apartment build in Village Downtown
Stay sharp and happy 4th of July,
When, what, and who is the Bozeman Build Report? The Build is a 1x/week free email newsletter delivered every Monday morning focused on mountain West trades with an emphasis on Montana. The author Daniel Z has a background in accounting, commodities, construction, trucking, and operates a small business called blockbiome. Daniel is not a financial or building advisor.
Sponsors and business spotlight of the week…
Tuscano Machine in Big Timber, Montana
Tuscano Machine is an advanced machine shop that combines traditional machining with leading-edge additive manufacturing to make high-precision parts and prototypes for a broad range of industries and applications. While rural Montana may seem like an unlikely setting for an advanced machine shop, owners Wesley Tuscano and David Coulter thought otherwise.
Local, State, & Northern Rockies Trade Pulse
Bozeman Trade Pulse
Costco Consumption
The Costco fuel station in Bozeman, Montana orders two fuel trucks a day each load containing a front tanker (holds 6,500 gallons) and trailer tanker (holds 5,500 gal) or 12,000 gallons per load or 24,000 gallons per day. - source being a gas station attendant conversation in March and a trucker conversation last week.
Electrical Box Wraps
People exploring town always think the electrical box art wraps are cute and i’d have to agree, they are neat. The Wrap Agency in Bozeman is in charge of wrapping these boxes and selects the artwork based on artists living within proximity of the box. Wednesday, we happened to be driving by S. 19th and Lincoln near the Marsh Lab and noticed someone installing a wrap on a newer box, we stopped, talked, and grabbed some photos. The instillation man mentioned twice they apply this 3M Anti-Graffiti Wrap Overlaminates over the wraps so its graffiti proof to some extent. Read and learn more about the A.R.T. project
View of Stadium View
Siding and exterior trim pieces are beginning to peel off the Stadium View Apartments South of MSU making me question the integrity, budget, and material quality going into other West Bozeman multi family projects.
The Corporate Shadow Over Big Sky, MT
An interesting article recently written by a snowbrains.com journalist talking about the corporate boom of Big Sky from a timeline perspective starting back when Boyne Resorts partnered with the owners of the Yellowstone Club in 2013.
Short bed camper on Uhaul truck
Not sure why I found this amusing but it raised the question does Uhaul rent truck camper packages (the answer is currently no) turns out Uhaul used to rent out (nearly everything) but later shifted their business doubling down on axels.
Mystery Uhaul camper truck spotted downtown
Montana Trade Pulse
MDT News last week
20240626-120723 | Resurfacing Work To Begin Between Lolo And Missoula
20240626-111954 | MT 37 Road Rehabilitation To Begin
20240626-111018 | Crews Resurfacing MT 135 And MT 200
20240624-080938 | Proposed Bridge Replacement West Of Corvallis
Hay Fever
Some pictures documenting Montana Hay production. According to the 2023 State Agriculture Overview Montana has over 5.4 million harvested hay acres with the cumulative value of production being $1.9 billion annually.
USDA Montana Ag Newsletter
Mining claim return
We returned to the friends hobby mine claim for some weekend fun. Not much gold was found however there were some good learning lessons about persistence and trial and error.
Shepherd feed lot first in U.S. with planned facility to turn 'manure into gold'
Yellowstone Cattle Feeders in Shepherd, MT is partnering with Bion Environmental Technologies developing a new way to synthesize manure. - KTVQ Montana Ag Network
Tester announces $10.2 million infrastructure grant for East Helena development
From the U.S. Department of Transportation to redevelop Valley Drive and build out more road infrastructure in the city where new housing developments are expanding. - Montana Right Now
Midland in Montana
Last Thursday and Friday the country band Midland performed in Emigrant and in Three Forks putting on an awesome show.
If you’re into country and missed Midland, here are some honky tonk alternatives…
July 12, 13, 14 Outriders Under the Big Sky - Billy Strings, Turnpike Troubadours, Miranda Lambert, Sierra Ferrell and more
JULY 25 – 27, Headwaters Country Jam in Three Forks
Aug 4th, Kettlehouse Dierks Bentley - sold out
Sep 22, Kettlehouse Sturgill Simpson - sold out
Sep 29, Kettlehouse Colter Wall - sold out
Seen near by
Alpine, Wyoming a developer is building a three story extended stay hotel. Opposed to stick framing from the ground up, they are stacking a total of 30 72×14’ modular units together like legos. The group responsible for making the units is Autovol from Nampa, ID. The crane arrived on site Tuesday June 25th, i’m super curious to witness how quickly this will open.
Commodities
This week we’re trying a new thing with the commodities section showcasing high volatility (Large Swings), commodities tied to the prices of building materials, key agriculture products of this region, and diesel costs.
Prices gathered as of Thursday June 27th from tradingeconomics.com and from gasprices.aaa.com for the fuel prices. Please share any suggestions with us.
Large Swings
Cocoa futures are down -17.76% extended losses, falling to around $7,200 per tonne to their lowest level since mid-May, as speculators liquidated part of their long positions following a nearly 10% drop in value last week.
Sugar prices are up 6.35% this week as the price surged to 20 cents per pound in June, a two-month high, driven by concerns over reduced supply from India.
Weather
Why talk about weather? It effects more than you would think! - NOAA Climate Prediction Center
History of the week
1906 Water flume. Lumbering activities in French Gulch area (near Butte-Anaconda) in connection with Butte mines and Anaconda smelter. - Montana State Library, Logging History in Montana
Digitized at the University of Montana Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library.