Can you provide more details on some of the areas that could see more impact from higher energy prices over the next six to 12 months?

Sure.

You know, I think Kathy teed this up really well for me that we haven't seen much yet on that pass through.

But we are concerned as we look towards the end of this year and particularly into 2027, given some of the lags from the impacts of the higher fuel prices for some of these key items that people buy, that we could see more of that pass through as we go into next year, which You know, that could mean that, you know, these inflationary pressures could extend well after we see a normalization of global fuel markets, even if that does occur over the next couple of months.

So, you know, let's start with some of the key data points.

Again, we're kind of focused really particularly on the diesel fuel cost here, because that's we are seeing much higher prices for regular gasoline, but it's the much higher prices and those record levels for diesel fuel that could really set things off, particularly from a food or a transportation cost perspective.

You know, compared to the pre-war levels, we're paying about $2.50 more per gallon for a gallon of diesel fuel.

Where could businesses absorb the costs instead of raising prices for the consumer?

Ben, if you had to describe US manufacturing today in one sentence, is this a recovery story, an expansion story, or is it something more complicated? Well, thanks,

Brian.

I would say at the beginning that this is a recovery story for the manufacturing sector after several years of pretty weak growth.

We even call it a recession for the sector when you go back for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

So a lot better signs here in 2026.

And I think there is some optimism that it could turn into a sustained expansion.

But there are still some risk factors out there that complicate the outlook.

So what's driving that optimism? And how much of it comes from AI investment and business capital spending versus just traditional demand?

So go ahead.

Yeah.

No.

Thanks for having me on.

I, you know, I agree with Eugenio that, you know, inflation and interest rates, those are the top topics that we are focused on right now, and there's a lot of nuance under that.

You know, certainly the, the increase in fuel prices that we've seen over the past month or two, it's a big concern.

You know, you, you think about a, a sector near and dear to Iowa, like agriculture, where diesel fuel prices, which are now at record levels, you know, fertilizer prices have been elevated all year, this is starting to weigh on activity and weigh on incomes as we head towards the end of the year.

Mm-hmm