Central Florida: A train wreck was the most exciting thing in Central Florida phosphate news last week.
A train pulling 61 railcars, most of which were filled with Mosaic Co.’s phosphate rock, partially derailed late on April 18, spilling the cargo of nine cars, according to The Ledger of Lakeland, Fla. The cause was not known.
Mosaic was apparently sending the rock for processing. The derailment involved 11 cars, but two did not overturn. The clean-up was still going the next day, and traffic had to detour without notice of signs. There were no injuries.
Mosaic earlier reached an agreement with its sulfur suppliers to pay $5/lt more for the molten sulfur it receives at Tampa (GM April 22, p. 10). However, late last week PCS still had not reached a deal with its suppliers for second-quarter molten sulfur, so the sulfur range was not changed.
The Central Florida DAP price range remained unchanged last week at $465-$520/st FOB, based on posted and asking prices. Mosaic’s list prices were $465/st FOB for rail and $480/st FOB for trucks, while CF Industries was posted at $520/st FOB. PCS Sales was selling at market prices out of Aurora and White Springs.
MAP continued to bring a $20/st premium over DAP.
U.S. Gulf: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut down locks on both the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers last week due to high water. That made it difficult for barge traffic, but most of the locks were scheduled to reopen relatively quickly.
Several barge vs. bridge incidents occurred last week. One happened in St. Louis County, where four loose barges struck a bridge, which was shut down, inspected, and reopened after no damage was found. The second happened in Caruthersville, Mo., where a barge hit an I-155 bridge. Again, the bridge was closed, inspected, and reopened after no damage was found.
Crop prices for grain products were mostly down again last week compared to the previous week, while wheat was mixed. Corn for May was pegged at $6.4525/bushel last week, falling from $6.475/bushel a week earlier. Corn for December 2013 was $5.3125/bushel, down from $5.42/bushel at last report, while corn for December 2014 was posted at $5.4075/bushel, down from $5.4575/bushel the previous week.
Soybeans for May were at $14.235/bushel, down from $14.27/bushel the previous week, while bean prices for November 2013 dropped to $12.0625/bushel from $12.195/bushel at last report. Soybeans for November 2014 were posted at $12.1525/bushel last week, down from $12.2225/bushel a week earlier.
Wheat for May was $7.0125/bushel, up from $6.933/bushel the previous week. Wheat for July 2013 decreased to $7.0375/bushel from $7.4325/bushel at last report, while wheat for July 2014 was listed at $7.47/bushel last week, up from $7.4325/bushel the previous week.
The NOLA DAP barge market showed a wide range last week, with sales of Moroccan light brown in the $420s/st FOB and domestic sales early in the week in the $460s/st FOB. Koch was selling the Moroccan.
Prices for MAP were harder to find, but it was agreed they were $20-$40/st FOB higher than the cheap DAP.
It seems unlikely that the top of the range will hold, with sources citing too much pressure to lower it.
The NOLA DAP barge price changed from the previous week’s range of $460-$470/st FOB to a wide $427-$465/st FOB last week, based on actual transactions. MAP barges were in the $463-$480/st FOB range, with the higher price for domestic product. Russian MAP was out of the market.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP pricing had reportedly slipped to as low as $490-$495/st FOB Cincinnati and spot river locations in the Illinois market. The upper end of the range remained at $520/st FOB out of some inland warehouses in Ohio.
MAP was $10-$20/st higher than DAP, depend