US Gulf:
US Gulf sulfuric acid imports were unchanged at the $130/mt CFR level.
Brazil:
The Brazil sulfuric acid market was steady at $145-$150/mt CFR. European producers are reportedly sold out for August and September, leading sources to predict an increase to $155/mt CFR in the next round of business.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The ammonium thiosulfate market was pegged at $270-$300/st FOB for the latest offers in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported at Terre Haute.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate continued at $250-$280/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at Waterloo, Iowa.
Northern Plains:
The ammonium thiosulfate market was quoted at the $270-$280/st FOB level in the Northern Plains.
Eastern Canada:
Ammonium thiosulfate was reported at C$480-$545/mt FOB for the last confirmed offers in Eastern Canada.
Germany:
CAN trade in Germany was limited this week, with a few truckloads changing hands at prices within the existing €265-€270/mt CIF range. Favorable weather means that planting will begin in the next few weeks, with an uptick in demand expected in the second half of August.
Cornbelt:
NPSZ pricing in the Cornbelt was steady at $710-$750/st FOB, depending on location.
Eastern Canada:
SOP remained in a broad range at C$1,085-$1,200/mt FOB in Eastern Canada, depending on grade and location.
Eastern Canada:
SOP Magnesia slipped to C$675-$690/mt FOB for recent fill offers in Eastern Canada, down from the prior C$690-$700/mt FOB range.
Potassium thiosulfate slipped to $650/st FOB Terre Haute in late July.
Potassium thiosulfate was reported at a flat $650/st FOB in Iowa in early August.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Strong thunderstorms tracked through central and northern Illinois at midweek, with reports of locally damaging winds and quarter-sized hail in some locations.
A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for southeastern Illinois and southern Indiana on Aug. 1, with forecasts warning of 70 mph winds, hail up to an inch in diameter, and possible tornadoes. The midweek storm followed an earlier system that produced an EF-2 tornado in Indiana’s Madison County on July 29.
Pop-up storms were also reported in central Ohio as the week progressed, along with high heat and humidity. Heat index readings were approaching the triple digits in parts of eastern Ohio on Aug. 1.
Good or excellent ratings were assigned to 72-76% of the corn and soybeans in Illinois on July 28, compared with 69-70% in Indiana and 63-66% in Ohio.
Western Cornbelt:
Thunderstorms packing gale-force winds, heavy rain, hail, and several tornadoes blew across Nebraska and the southern half of Iowa late on July 31.
The Omaha-Council Bluffs area of Nebraska bore the brunt of damage from the storm, with reports of more than 220,000 residents without power after 90 mph winds slammed the region. The system spawned at least two tornadoes and slowed traffic on I-80 due to multiple overturned 18-wheelers.
The storm weakened as it moved east, but a severe thunderstorm watch remained in effect for at least 14 Iowa counties on Wednesday evening into early Thursday. About 16,600 customers were without power in central Iowa on Wednesday evening, according to MidAmerican Energy.
Severe thunderstorms also churned through the Kansas City, Mo., area at midweek, leaving more than 70,000 residents without power.
Fully 74-78% of the regional corn crop and 75-76% of the soybeans were rated as good or excellent on July 28, along with 80% of Nebraska’s sorghum, 76% of Missouri’s rice, and 60% of Missouri’s cotton crop.
Northern Plains:
Strong storms battered parts of South Dakota and southern Minnesota during the week, with reports of damaging winds and large hail in some locations.
The first system on July 29-30 produced 50-70 mph winds and spotty hail across south-central South Dakota. A second system on July 31 caused flash flooding in Brookings, S.D., and multiple rounds of strong thunderstorms in central and southern Minnesota.
South Dakota’s corn and soybeans were 72% good or excellent as of July 28, compared with 58-60% in Minnesota and 51-65% in North Dakota. The winter wheat harvest was 63% complete in South Dakota by that date, while the spring wheat and barley harvest was just starting in all three states.
Good or excellent ratings were assigned to 77-83% of Minnesota’s spring wheat, barley, and oats, compared with 74-82% in North Dakota and 70-75% in South Dakota in late July.
Northeast:
Much of the Northeast was bracing for another round of heat and humidity as the week progressed, with highs reaching the low- to mid-90s. Heat advisories were in effect for multiple locations during the week, while scattered showers were reported in New York. More widespread rain was expected in New England by the weekend.
Crop conditions continued to be described in very favorable terms in the Northeast, with fully 83% of Pennsylvania’s corn rated as good or excellent on July 28.
Eastern Canada:
Slow-moving thunderstorms dropped heavy rain in southern Quebec at midweek, causing localized flooding and power outages from strong wind gusts. Some locations reported as much as 60 mm of rain per hour on July 31.
Spotty showers also rolled through the Maritimes on Aug. 1, with heat and high humidity driving humidex readings up to the mid-30s C in many locations.
US Gulf:
Travel through Port Allen Lock was scheduled to be unavailable July 30 through Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 12-15 to complete repairs begun in March. Port Allen Lock was closed for nearly a month after a miter gate hinge anchorage failure on March 28.
Bayou Sorrel Lock guidewall work scheduled through Oct. 30 restricted travel between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Delays of 5-18 hours were reported, according to Corps data, up from 10 hours at last report. Repairs at Brazos Lock are projected to stretch into October, limiting weekday passages from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Delays were reported up to 72 hours during the week.
Equipment inspection and hurricane preparations shut Industrial Lock on July 25-27, according to a Corps posting. Lingering delays from the closure were noted at 55 hours on Aug. 1, with 23 vessels counted in line to lock.
Outsized delays were reported at Algiers Lock due to the shutdown at Port Allen Lock, with midweek wait times noted up to 24 hours. Sources quoted intermittent 5-8 hour delays at Harvey Lock, and tows transiting Calcasieu Lock waited up to nine hours to pass. Corps data showed a handful of 4-11 hour passages at Colorado Lock.
Mississippi River:
Sources reported logistics impacts due to heat throughout much of the Mississippi River during the week. Heat warnings were posted from New Orleans through at least Cape Girardeau, Mo., with New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., under a heat advisory on Aug. 1, while Vicksburg, Miss., St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., and Cape Girardeau were subject to excessive heat warnings on that date.
Southbound travel is unavailable between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at Mile 759 of the lower river through an estimated Sept. 18 due to rock placement. Travel was blocked through the Fort Madison Bridge from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 28 and Aug. 1.
Sporadic five-hour delays were reported at Locks 18-20, and tows regularly waited 4-7 hours to transit Lock 27. The Cumberland River’s Old Hickory Lock was slated to return from hydraulic line replacement on Aug. 1. The site was previously closed to daytime travel on June 10-27.
Illinois River:
Sources continued to report dredging underway at Miles 87-88 of the Illinois River. The dredge was active from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., though minimal impacts to navigation were reported. Larger tows were advised to contact the dredge prior to arrival if extra passing room is required.
Loading drafts on the Illinois River continued at a maximum 9.5 feet for Miles 1-231 and nine feet above Mile 231.
Lockport Lock at Mile 291 is scheduled to shut down in 2025 from Jan. 14 through March 11 for vertical lift gate installation, blocking passage to the Chicago area.
Ohio River:
Falling water levels on the lower river held draft limits at a maximum 10-10.5 feet, depending on location and direction of travel, sources noted. Tow lengths were permitted up to 15 barges.
McAlpine Lock is closed to downriver travel from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 30, with delays reported up to 10 hours. Work reported blocking access to the Markland Lock main chamber for 19 hours daily was scheduled to pause on Aug. 2. The project will resume on Aug. 12 and run through Sept. 6, necessitating detours through the auxiliary chamber.
The main chamber at Hannibal Lock is closed until Nov. 8 for miter gate repairs, resulting in delays up to nine hours.
The primary chamber at John T. Myers Lock will shut to navigation from Aug. 21 to Nov. 9. A similar closure in October 2023 produced four-day delays. Belleville Lock will undergo a round of 30-day main and auxiliary chamber shutdowns before the end of the year.
Daily closures for gate fender replacement at the Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock were extended through Aug. 10, with delays noted up to 12 hours. The project was previously scheduled through July 24. Wilson Lock is shut to daytime travel through Aug. 8, triggering waits in a wide 6-42 hour range.
Arkansas River:
Van Buren Bridge repairs are set to begin on Aug. 22 and run through Sept. 8. Crews will attempt to pass waiting vessels following the ninth day of work, sources said, though shuttle barges will be permitted to pass whenever the channel is free of equipment. The bridge is located at Mile 300.8 of the Arkansas River.
Webbers Falls Lock will close on Aug. 26 through Sept. 8 for miter gate inspections. Sources predicted intermittent delays in the weeks leading up to the closure.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. announced on July 25 that it is moving forward with a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at its Yazoo City, Miss., complex that is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from the facility by up to 500,000 mt/y.
As part of the project, CF has signed a definitive commercial agreement with ExxonMobil for the transport and sequestration in permanent geologic storage of the CO2. Sequestration is expected to start in 2028.
CF said it will invest approximately $100 million to build a CO2 dehydration and compression unit at the complex. Once sequestration by ExxonMobil has commenced, CF expects the project to qualify for tax credits under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides a credit per metric ton of CO2 sequestered.
“We are pleased to advance another significant decarbonization project that will keep CF Industries at the forefront of low-carbon ammonia production while also helping us achieve our 2030 emissions intensity reduction goal,” said Tony Will, CF President and CEO. “This decarbonization project also will increase the availability of nitrogen products with a lower-carbon intensity for customers focused on reducing the carbon footprint of their businesses.”
Once sequestration has begun, CF said the Yazoo City complex will be able to manufacture products with a substantially lower carbon intensity than conventional ammonia production sites. Most of the ammonia produced at Yazoo City is upgraded into nitrogen fertilizers such as UAN and ammonium nitrate, or upgraded into diesel exhaust fluid to reduce NOx emissions from diesel trucks.
The Yazoo City project is CF’s second major decarbonization project leveraging CCS technologies, as well as its second CCS project with ExxonMobil. The companies are progressing a CCS project at CF’s Donaldsonville, La., facility that will sequester up to 2 million mt/y of CO2. Sequestration for the Donaldsonville project is expected to begin in 2025.
