Freightcar America, Inc.

Welcome to Freight Car America's third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participant lines are in a listen-only mode. For those of you participating on the conference call, there will be an opportunity for your questions at the end of today's prepared comments. Please note this conference is being recorded. An audio replay of the conference call will be available on the company's website within a few hours after this call. I would now like to turn the call over to Chris O'Day with Riveron Investor Relations.

Thank you and welcome. Joining me today are Nick Randall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Reardon, Chief Financial Officer, and Matt Tong, Chief Commercial Officer. I'd like to remind everyone that statements made during this conference call related to the company's expected future performance, future business prospects, or future events or plans may include forward-looking statements as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Participants are directed to FreightCar America's Form 10-K for a description of certain business risks, some of which may be outside of the control of the company and may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. During today's call, there will also be a discussion of some items that do not conform to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the earnings release issued this morning. Our earnings release for the third quarter 2024 is posted on the company's website at FreightCarAmerica.com, along with our 8K, which was filed pre-market this morning. And with that, I will now turn it over to Nick for a few opening remarks.

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us today. This quarter marked another strong step in building on momentum from our record-setting start to the year. I'm pleased to report we remain on track to achieve our annual goals. We continue to execute our strategy of driving efficiencies at our state-of-the-art facility, enabling us to meet unique needs of our customers by producing premium rail cars, conversions, and rebodies, along with providing exceptional parts and services. In terms of financial performance, we grew top line sales significantly, increasing 83% over the prior year period and delivered another quarterly consistently solid gross margins of 14.3% and a second consecutive quarter of robust operating cash flow. This quarter highlights our differentiated product offerings and ability to deliver on our commitments with operational excellence. We managed multiple changeovers throughout the quarter, marked by robust shipments to the customers. During the quarter, we were pleased with our performance as we delivered 961 rail cars, just shy of last quarter's record output at our operating facility. We stand out in the industry due to our unique manufacturing capabilities and our operational flexibility, enabling us to meet diverse customer needs. By delivering differentiated products, we secure new business and improve our earnings quality. Our commercialization strategy is also distinct, with nearly all market routes supported by independent financing options. This focused approach allows us to stay nimble, efficiently handle smaller orders, and take on specialized projects as well as larger orders. Unlike competitors that both manufacture and lease, Our exclusive manufacturing role enhances our appeal, as we can partner more freely with a wide range of leasing providers. As proof of our flexibility to meet our customers' needs, we can partner with key shippers, positioning ourselves to consistently win high-quality work. For our large, covered hopper, we have refined design enhancement, including lightweight structure and high cubic capacity that provide additional optimization for our customers. This will be the first time we've produced this design of covered hoppers at our operating facility, which has been purposefully designed to help maximize payloads and transport efficiency. This underscores the value of our tailored solutions that address specific customer requirements. In terms of market dynamics, while the third quarter was slower regarding industry activity, we have continued to grow our market presence by capturing a historically strong proportion of orders and inquiries. On a trailing 12-month basis through September, we have gained 3% of share sequentially, despite orders across the overall industry being down roughly 20%. This steady flow of momentum and outperformance has been a hallmark of our commercial discipline this year as we continue to secure high-quality orders across differentiated portfolio. Demand for rail cars remains stable, largely tracking replacement cycles. And we expect this industry momentum to support our business model further as our pipeline grows. As we look to close out the year, we are confident in our market position. We're reaffirming our full-year revenue and rail car delivery expectations and raising the midpoint by narrowing our forecasted adjusted EBITDA range between $37 million and $39 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 89% at the midpoint. Looking ahead, we continue to see strong demand across various product lines that will have a positive impact as we enter 2025 and look forward to executing on our long-term growth prospects. Our focus remains clear, enhancing our product portfolio, capturing market share, and leveraging our proven manufacturing platform to drive sustained growth and cash generation. In my eyes, delivering strong results year to date is a significant achievement, and we're excited to carry this momentum into the fourth quarter, continuing to build a business that thrives on consistently meeting demand through our operational versatility. With that, I will next turn the call over to Matt to discuss the market, and then to Mike for more detail on our financial results.