All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Ammonium Thiosulfate

Amthio, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northern Plains, Specialty, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $600-$625/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at Terre Haute, Ind., and the high at Cincinnati.

Western Cornbelt:

Ammonium thiosulfate pricing was pegged at a flat $600/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.

Northern Plains:

Ammonium thiosulfate pricing slipped to $610/st FOB in central and eastern North Dakota, down $30/st from last report.

Eastern Canada:

The ammonium thiosulfate market dropped to a wide C$765-$970/mt FOB range in Eastern Canada, with the low end reflecting a fall of C$114/mt since late June.

Sulfate of Potash

Eastern Canada, Market Watch, Specialty, Sulfate of Potash, U.S. Exports, U.S. Imports

U.S. Imports:

SOP imports for May increased 299.4%, to 16,189 st from the prior-year 4,053 st. Imports totaled 169,983 st in the July-May period, rising 81.4% year-over-year from 93,718 st.

U.S. Exports:

SOP exports moved 288.2% higher in May, to 12,679 st from the prior-year 3,266 st. July-May exports firmed 32.9%, to 63,903 st from the previous 48,074 st.

Eastern Canada:

The SOP market was unchanged at C$1,395-$1,400/mt FOB in Eastern Canada in mid-July.

Crops/Weather

Crops/Weather, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northeast, Northern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

Temperatures ranged from the mid-80s to low-90s across central and southern Illinois during the week, while highs in northern Illinois topped out at 90 degrees, with only spotty showers reported across the state.

Similar conditions were reported in Indiana, where temperatures were generally described as “comfortable” and rain chances sparse as the week progressed. Temperatures in northern Ohio topped out in the upper-70s at midweek, but highs in the 80s were once again expected by the weekend.

Illinois continued to lead the region in crop conditions, with 63-66% of the corn and soybeans in the state rated as good or excellent, compared with 47-52% in Indiana and Ohio. Ohio’s oat crop was 87% headed by July 10, with 65% of the acreage rated as good or excellent.

Western Cornbelt:

Daytime highs in Iowa at midweek ranged from the low-80s in eastern areas of the state to the low- to mid-90s in a few western Iowa locations. Forecasts called for only spotty thunderstorms during the week, with an increased chance of storms across Iowa by the end of the week.

High heat in Nebraska and Missouri sparked some spotty thunderstorms as the week progressed, with highs reaching the mid- to upper-90s in many areas. Drought conditions were expanding across Nebraska and southern Missouri, with some patches of extreme drought showing up in northeastern and southwestern Nebraska at mid-month.

Fully 79-81% of Iowa’s corn and soybeans were rated as good or excellent at mid-month, compared with 63-68% in Nebraska and 51-60% in Missouri. Nebraska’s sorghum crop was 65% good or excellent on July 10, while Missouri’s cotton and rice were reported at 58% and 65% good or excellent, respectively.

Northern Plains:

Strong storms churned through the Northern Plains in early July, causing crop and structural damage in some areas. A derecho on July 5 produced 99-mph winds in Howard, S.D., while strong storms in North Dakota on July 10 sparked wind gusts up to an estimated 120-mph near Fairfield and Beach, N.D.

Sweltering temperatures were reported in many areas as the week progressed, with highs in the Twin Cities expected to reach the low-90s by the weekend. The hot weather was accompanied by an increased chance of showers and thunderstorms late in the week.

The recent combination of heat and moisture gave crops a needed boost after a delayed start to planting. Good or excellent ratings were assigned to 69-79% of the corn and soybeans in the Dakotas on July 10, compared with 63-66% in Minnesota. Fully 80-88% of North Dakota’s spring wheat, barley, and oats fell into those two categories at mid-month, compared with 56-69% in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Northeast:

Strong thunderstorms were reported across southern and northern New England on July 12. The storms were sparked by high humidity and hot weather, with temperatures climbing to the upper-80s in some locations.

Storm warnings were also in effect on July 12 for eastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with reports of damaging winds and large hail in some locations. Highs in Maryland reached to the upper-80s as the week progressed, with isolated showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for July 14.

The combination of heat, humidity, and well-timed showers has benefited the region’s crops. Fully 79% of Pennsylvania’s corn was rated as good or excellent on July 10, with 2% of the crop at the silking stage.

Eastern Canada:

High heat and humidity sparked a number of strong thunderstorms across Eastern Canada during the week. Heavy rain moved through parts of southern Ontario on July 11, while strong winds, downpours, and large hail were reported in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec on July 12.

A second front moved through the region on July 13-14, producing scattered showers in parts of Ontario and Quebec and prompting a tornado watch on July 14 in Nova Scotia. Forecasts warned of potentially strong thunderstorms in southwestern New Brunswick on July 14, with a risk of heavy rain and large hail in some areas.

Sources reported generally favorable crops conditions across the region, thanks to plenty of heat units. “Crops in the East are looking pretty good on the whole,” said one contact. “We are seeing some drought stress starting in certain regions, along Lake Erie especially, but other areas have had more than adequate rain, mostly along and into the Quebec border. We’ve had lots of heat – looking forward to Mother Nature serving up a little more rain.”

Transportation

Arkansas River, Illinois River, Market Watch, Mississippi RIver, Ohio River, Transportation, U.S. Gulf

U.S. Gulf:

Dredging was expected in the Port Allen Lock area on July 10-14, triggering likely delays of eight hours or more. The operation was scheduled to run on a 24-hour schedule. Following the conclusion of dredging, the lock was anticipated to close to daylight-hour navigation on July 20-30 for repairs and maintenance, blocking transit daily from 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Twenty-one tows were reported queued to lock on July 12, with waits posted up to 18 hours.

Commercial traffic was stopped at the West Canal’s Mile 231 during the week from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and again between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., due to a bridge closure. No timeline for a return to normal operations was available on July 12.

Monday-through-Thursday travel restrictions remained in place at Calcasieu Lock through July 11, blocking commercial traffic daily between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The project, which began on March 22 and is anticipated to run into late August, was paused temporarily on July 11.

Following a pause due to high water in the area, guidewall construction efforts at Bayou Sorrel Lock were expected to resume on July 11, limiting navigation between 6:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, through February 2023. Weekday delays were projected up to 12 hours, with travel times expected to normalize on Saturday and Sunday. Waits were observed in the 4-11 hour range during the week.

Repairs to the Bayou Sorrel Bridge resumed during the week, with an expected conclusion slated for second-half August. Travel through the area was expected to be unavailable Monday through Thursday between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and again from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Shoaling continued to prompt 10-foot draft restrictions at Miles 113-117 of the Atchafalaya River. Tows were limited to 600-foot lengths as well, while barge strings measuring longer than 400 feet were advised to travel with an assist boat. Width limits of 70 feet were also in effect. Tows were suggested to bypass the restrictions by traveling through the Port Allen Route. The presence of recently revealed underwater pipelines triggered a shutdown at Little Island Pass, Middle Island Pass, and Riverside Pass.

Unassisted lockages were subject to ongoing length and width restrictions at Algiers Lock, limiting tows to four standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers per turn. Longer strings were permitted to lock when accompanied by an assist tug. Delays fell in the 8-15 hour range through the week.

Ongoing intermittent travel restrictions at Belle Chasse Bridge were expected due to construction work scheduled through the end of the year. Travel stoppages were likely to run up to 12 hours. Belle Chasse Bridge is located at Mile 3 in the West Canal.

Delays at Industrial Lock were noted in a wide 3-13 hour range during the week. Intermittent 14-hour waits were seen at Brazos Lock.

Mississippi River:

Reduced water levels continued to drive draft limits and reduced towing maximums on the lower Mississippi River, although conditions were said to be improving. Southbound drafts were capped at a reported 12.5 feet, an increase from 11-11.5 feet one week earlier, while tows traveling upriver remained limited 10.5-foot drafts. Maximum barge counts were reduced by 10-15%.

Extreme heat in the lower Mississippi River Valley was noted driving minor delays to travel and associated outdoor commercial activities. A heat advisory on July 13 warned of dangerous temperatures in Louisiana, Mississippi, and southeastern Arkansas.

Rock-laying work underway since May 10 at Mile 807 was heard to continue outside of the navigational channel, with limited impacts to commercial travel reported.

Power line work was underway at Mile 107, limiting daytime travel through the area through at least July 20. One-way traffic was available daily from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., and again from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Travel was completely unavailable from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Old River Lock is slated to shut from Aug. 30 through Nov. 13 for miter gate installation, halting all travel through the site. Tows seeking access to the Red River should detour through the Atchafalaya River. Old River Lock is located at the lower river’s Mile 305.

Wait times were observed up to six hours at Lock 24 during the week.

Illinois River:

A repair and maintenance operation in progress since May 9 at Brandon Road Lock is scheduled to continue through Sept. 8, according to a Corps posting. Transit is restricted to overnight hours through Aug. 14. The site will completely close to navigation from Aug. 15 through Sept. 4, followed by a return to overnight-only movements on Sept. 5-8. Standard, 24-hour navigation is set to return on Sept. 9. A 70-foot width limit is in effect for the entirety of the operation. Wait times were counted as high as 15 hours during the week.

Wickets continued to be reported in the raised position at Peoria Lock, prompting vessels to lock through that location. Rising water levels allowed wickets to be lowered at LaGrange Lock, shippers said. As a result, tows were able to transit LaGrange via the nonlocking navigational pass. Peoria Lock waits were noted up to 14.5 hours.

Marseilles Lock delays were reported up to 11 hours during the week. Starved Rock Lock wait times topped out at nine hours through July 13.

Ohio River:

Shoaling conditions continued to be reported at the Ohio River’s Mile 926, limiting navigation through Miles 920-926. Transits through the area were considered on a case-by-case basis. Maximum draft limits were set at 10 feet for the length of the river. No timeline for a return to normal operation was immediately available.

The Cannelton Lock main chamber was reported shutting on July 5 for miter gate replacement, forcing tows to pass through the smaller secondary chamber through an estimated Nov. 11. Corps data showed delays in the 13-23 hour range on July 12-13.

Hannibal Lock primary chamber miter gate and quoin repair was reported in progress from July 5 through Oct. 8, limiting vessels to the use of the secondary chamber.

The Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock saw typical wait times in the 8-13 hour range for the week, with intermittent spikes registering up to 18-21 hours. Wilson Lock delays peaked at 21.5 hours on July 12-13.

Miter gate machinery repair operations at Cheatham Lock on the Cumberland River were scheduled to run through Aug. 5. Travel shutdowns at the site were noted following a repeating 14-day pattern, in which the site is closed to navigation for 11 days, followed by three days of unrestricted travel. The industry is expecting significant delays while the project is underway.

Arkansas River:

A Norrell Lock daytime travel shutdown was in effect through July 21 due to planned maintenance, blocking movements daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The travel outages were scheduled to repeat on Aug. 1-10; Aug. 21-Sept. 21; Oct. 20-Nov. 18; Nov. 29-Dec. 23; and Jan. 3-31, 2023.

The lock is anticipated to undergo a complete shutdown running from Sept. 30 through Oct. 9, although a delay to that timeline was reportedly under consideration.

Planned repairs at Joe Hardin Lock will block marine travel from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily on Sept. 12-19, and again on Sept. 28-29. A complete shutdown of the lock was planned to run from Sept. 30 through Oct. 9.

CHS 3Q Income Doubles, YTD Nearly Quadruples; Ukraine Situation Updated

Earnings, News, Nitrogen, Northern Plains

CHS Inc., Inver Grove Heights, Minn., has released results for the third quarter ending May 31, 2022, showing net income of $576.6 million and revenues of $13.1 billion, compared to the year-ago net income of $273.6 million and revenues of $10.9 billion. Nine-month net income was $1.2 billion and revenues $34.4 billion, up from the year-ago $305 million and $28 billion, respectively.

“Global grains and oilseed market demand remained strong throughout the third quarter,” said Jay Debertin, CHS President and CEO.

“Decreased global supply due to geopolitical factors, supply chain disruptions, and market volatility also contributed to increased earnings.

“The ongoing war in Ukraine has resulted in significant uncertainty and contributed to ongoing volatility across global energy markets,” he added. “We are leveraging our U.S. refineries to reliably meet the energy needs of CHS customers.”

As for Ukraine, CHS, which does business and has employees in the country, provided an update. It said its operations were dramatically disrupted by the war, and some of the company’s employees have been forced to relocate to other countries and within Ukraine, with many unable to perform all or some work duties.

While the company said that it does not have significant fixed assets or infrastructure in Ukraine, it continues to have grain inventory in various facilities, with the ability to access those limited, which has resulted in an impairment of a portion of those grain inventories.

However, CHS said that it was able to sell limited amounts of Ukrainian inventory during the quarter ending May 31, which reduced its inventory position to approximately $22.5 million.

In the Ag segment, CHS said processing and agronomy businesses delivered another strong quarter, building on momentum that began earlier in the fiscal year. Energy segment refining margins were higher, driven by robust demand across global energy markets and favorable pricing for Canadian crude oil, which is processed by CHS refineries.

CHS noted that certain of its equity method investments continued to perform exceptionally well, including the CF Nitrogen investment, which was driven by strong global demand for urea and UAN.

CHS reported third-quarter Ag pretax earnings of $273.7 million on revenues of $10.4 billion, up from the year-ago $140.1 million and $9.2 billion, respectively. The company said the increase in Ag revenues reflected the higher pricing attributed to market-driven price increases across most of the segment’s product categories during the quarter, including a $771.7 million increase for wholesale agronomy product revenues resulting from strong global market demand and global supply disruptions.

However, CHS said wholesale agronomy saw decreased volumes during the quarter due to less-than-favorable weather conditions during the spring planting and application season compared to last year.

Nine-month Ag income was $615.3 million on revenues of $27.2 billion, up from the year-ago $237.2 million on revenues of $23.6 billion.

Income from the CHS stake in CF Nitrogen was $178.2 million, up from the year-ago $46.6 million. Nine-month income was $429.1 million, up from the year-ago $62.3 million.

Energy income climbed to $163.2 million on revenues of $2.94 billion, from the year-ago $4.96 million and $1.82 billion, respectively. Nine-month Energy income was $243.3 million on revenues of $7.6 billion, up from the year-ago loss of $116.9 million and $4.6 billion, respectively.

ACME Plans Two Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Plants for India

Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, India, News, News Briefs

Indian solar power producer ACME Group, Gurugram, on July 5 announced a green hydrogen and green ammonia project in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The project reportedly entails an investment of US$6.5 billion.

“This project will comprise 5,000 mw of solar PV plant, 1.5 GW of the electrolyzer, and 1.1 million mt of ammonia synthesis loop,” said ACME Chief Operating Officer Sandeep Kashyap. “ACME is willing to work with the government to help not only to build this project, but also to create an ecosystem of smaller units. We extend our gratitude to the government of Tamil Nadu for the confidence and support offered to us.”

The news comes soon after ACME’s June announcement of a similar project in the Indian stateofKarnataka. That project would result in a 1.2 million mt green hydrogen and ammonia plant associated with a captive solar power unit. The project is planned for 2022-2027.

ACME has set up the world’s first integrated semi-commercial scale project for a green hydrogen and green ammonia plant at Bikaner in Rajasthan.

ACME has also partnered with Norway-based Scatec ASA to build and operate a large-scale green ammonia facility in the Duqm Special Economic Zone of Oman. The first phase of the facility is to produce 100,000 mt of green ammonia annually, which is to be expanded to 1.2 million mt per annum, with about 3.5 GW of electrolyser capacity powered by 5.5 GWp of the solar power plant.

Brazil’s Largest Port Expands Capacity, Easing Fertilizer Crunch

Brazil, News, News Briefs

Brazil’s largest port is getting a new railroad that will help the key agricultural nation expedite imports of much needed fertilizer, according to Bloomberg. An internal railway at Santos Port was approved July 6 by a federal court known as TCU after a months-long process.

The decision paves the way for a complete overhaul in logistics infrastructure within the port, which will likely see its rail capacity double in the next 5-10 years.

One of the main features will be equipment that can quickly unload fertilizer shipments. Brazil, the world’s biggest producer of soybeans, coffee, and sugar, imports 85% of its fertilizers. Farmers are expanding, and fertilizer purchases rose from 26 million mt in 2017 to 40 million mt last year, straining current logistics.

“The productivity of a specialized terminal can be seven times higher than a general terminal, where the cargoes are unloaded directly to trucks,” said Bruno Stupello, Business Development and Regulation Director of the Santos Port Authority.

The port has a capacity to move 50 million mt/y, which will expand to 115 million mt/y.

The next steps, according to Stupello, will be to identify the companies that want to join an association that will operate the new railway and share costs. They will invest close to 900 million reais ($166 million) over the next five years, starting in 2023.