Stella-Jones Inc. (SJ)
Q: Hi, my only "basic materials" holding is Stella-Jones. It's a half position and is about 2% of my portfolio, which your analytics tool is telling me I need to bump up to about 4%. Could you suggest options under "basic materials" and whether I should increase SJ to a full position.
On your Portfolio Analytics tool, which I like, is there a way to enter holdings in US dollars, or are we to convert the Base Cost to USD when inputting those values?
Thanks,
Robert
Q: In response to Cam's comments about Stella Jones and concrete ties and poles taking their market share.... A couple months ago across the street from me a line of concrete poles was being replaced with wood. I chatted to one of the guys and he said the wood poles last way longer and that there is more maintenance required with concrete poles (cracking, rusting metal hardware were two of his examples). Judging by the trucks and team of people present there I would speculate the labor to maintain and replace a pole would be much higher then the pole itself. Cheers
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Q: I continue be interested in SJ, but on a recent drive in BC I saw some work being done to replace railway ties...they were not wood, they were concrete. This struck me as being a problem for SJ but I'm hoping you can elaborate. Does SJ make mention of how concrete ties are affecting their business? Do you have any idea what the price point difference is between wooden ties and concrete?
Cam
