All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Transportation

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

US Gulf:

The Corps announced plans to shut Port Allen Lock for 48 hours in the first half of July for dredging, sources said, although no firm dates were reported. Reverse head conditions kept Harvey Lock closed to navigation for the week. Transit through the site has been unavailable since June 15.

Intermittent travel outages noted between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Port Allen Route’s BNSF railroad bridge, located at Mile 1 of the Port Allen Route, were set to conclude on July 6. The shutdowns are scheduled to resume July 17 through Aug. 14.

Work at Colorado Lock, previously slated to wrap up on June 23, was extended through July 14. Waits were posted up to 14 hours during the week, down from 33 hours in the prior report.

Guidewall repairs begun on June 26 at Bayou Sorrel Lock restricted navigation between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily, prompting 11-hour delays. The project is anticipated to run through March 2024. Chamber wall repairs at Leland Bowman Lock were pushed back to July 10-23 from June 30-July 14, sources said.

Intermittent seven-hour waits were described at Port Allen Lock during the week, while Industrial Lock delays were counted up to 14 hours. Sources noted Algiers Lock wait times as high as nine hours. Brazos Lock passages averaged 4-7 hours.

Mississippi River:

Sources reported ongoing towing restrictions on the Mississippi River due to low water levels.

Loading drafts were reduced by 5-10% on the upper river, while drafts were cut by 25% for southbound movements loading at St. Louis. Barges loading at Cairo and traveling downriver saw drafts reduced by 15%, and draft limits were slashed by 20% on northbound tows destined for Cairo or below.

Southbound tows also saw barge counts reduced by 15-25%, delaying arrivals by 24-48 hours. Sources noted a temporary bump in loading drafts in the St. Louis area during the week, but expected the increase to be short-lived.

The St. Louis river gauge, posted at 2.1 feet on July 5, was predicted to decline to (-)3.40 feet on Aug. 2. On the lower river, the Memphis gauge moved above the (-)5.0-foot low stage to (-)2.08 feet on July 5. Following a rise to 3.2 feet on July 8-9, Memphis was forecast to return to low stage on July 18.

Dredging previously reported at Mile 608 moved to Mile 525 during the week, sources said. Rolling 24-hour shutdowns were expected at the site for approximately one week. Work at Old River Lock will halt navigation on July 31-Aug. 3, Aug. 14-17, and Aug. 21-24.

Revetment efforts scheduled through mid-July at the lower river’s Mile 933 were expected to limit southbound navigation from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Delays were noted in a 12-18 hour range on July 5.

Illinois River:

Brandon Road Lock, Dresden Island Lock, and Marseilles Lock are closed to navigation through approximately Oct. 1 for maintenance and repairs, closing the river to commercial navigation. Starved Rock Lock is slated to shut on July 11-14 for miter gate work.

Loading drafts were reduced by 5-10% on the Illinois River due to low water levels, sources said. Because of the conditions, wickets were kept in the raised position at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock for the week.

Ohio River:

Draft limits were reported at 10-10.5 feet on the Ohio River due to low water levels.

Repairs to the John T. Meyers Lock floating mooring system were scheduled to continue through Aug. 20, necessitating a shutdown of the main chamber. The secondary chamber will close Aug. 21 through Sept. 10 for miter gate repairs, followed by an additional main chamber closure running Sept. 11 through Nov. 17.

The McAlpine Lock auxiliary chamber is closed through Aug. 18, sources said. The secondary chamber at Melville Lock is shut for maintenance and repairs until Aug. 4.

Vessels were required to utilize an assist boat on southbound movements through Smithland Lock due to strong outflows. The land chamber at Smithland is scheduled to close Sept. 22 through Oct. 21 for machinery repairs, followed by a shutdown of the river chamber on Oct. 22-Nov. 20 for machinery replacement.

The Greenup Lock primary chamber closed to navigation on July 5 for planned maintenance, prompting auxiliary chamber detours through Aug. 14. Winfield Lock repairs scheduled July 10 through Sept. 15 are unlikely to trigger lengthy wait times, sources said.

Waits were quoted up to 15 hours at the Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock during the week. Corps data showed intermittent 6-14 hour delays at Wilson Lock. On the Monongahela River, maximum drafts were reduced to 8.5 feet due to low water levels.

Senate Bill Introduced to Address Rail Service

News, News Briefs, Transportation, U.S.

US Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on June 28 introduced the “Reliable Rail Service Act” to help address ongoing service issues and high costs of rail shipping for American businesses.

The legislation, according to its sponsors, is designed to ensure that the largest freight railroads provide businesses with reliable services at reasonable rates. It will accomplish this by statutorily clarifying the common carrier obligation definition and establishing specific criteria for the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to consider when determining whether a rail carrier has violated its obligation.

“The Reliable Rail Service Act takes a commonsense approach to addressing high costs and unreliable service by clarifying the common carrier obligation, which under current law requires rail carriers to serve the wider shipping public on reasonable request,” said a statement from Baldwin and Marshall. “Current ambiguity around this principle has contributed to insufficient rail services and exorbitant costs for American products to get to market.”

Criteria the STB would be required to consider in its assessment under the legislation include impacts of reductions or changes in the frequency of transportation or service; availability and maintenance of reasonable local service schedules and delivery windows; impacts of reductions in employment levels; impacts of reductions in equipment; and whether the service reasonably meets the local operational and service requirements of the requestor.

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) are among a long list of agriculture, industry, and labor organizations who support the bill.

“ARA appreciates Senator Baldwin and Roger Marshall for leading legislative efforts to address the continuous rail service problems faced by our industry, which has caused supply chain disruptions and negatively impacted other shippers within the agricultural industry,” said Daren Coppock, ARA President and CEO.

“Congress needs to tackle head on the significant cost increases and service disruptions that harm the businesses of our ag retailer members and their farmer customers who rely on freight rail transportation to deliver the critical crop input products to feed and fuel our nation,” Coppock added. “This proposal will provide some needed clarity to the common carrier obligation, improve the Surface Transportation Board’s oversight authority, and help ensure railroads provide reliable service at reasonable rates for shippers, which will ultimately benefit consumers.”

EU Court Overturns Decision to Extend AN Duties

Ammonium Nitrate, Europe, News, News Briefs, Russia

The European Court of Justice has overturned the December 2020 decision (GM Dec. 18, 2020) by the European Commission (EC) to extend antidumping duties on ammonium nitrate imports from Russia for another five years.

The court’s ruling followed a suit filed in February 2021 by JSC Nevinnomyssky Azot and JSC Novomoskovsk Azot, both subsidiaries of EuroChem Group AG (GM May 7, 2021), who claimed that the EC’s review procedure had contravened the EU’s requirements on antidumping legislation.

The EC’s 2020 decision to extend the antidumping duties, which had been in effect for a quarter century, followed a 15-month investigation (GM Sept. 27, 2019). As a result of the decision, the applicants remained subject to an antidumping duty of between €28.78-€32.71/mt, according to the product type.

In its July 5 ruling, however, the European Court noted that removing the duty could result in Russian imports of AN being redirected from other markets, mainly from Latin America, to the EU, which, it noted, is more attractive for Russian suppliers both logistically and regarding prices.

The Court ruled that the EC, as part of its sunset review, had requested additional information from Brussels-based Fertilizers Europe, which represents Europe’s major fertilizer manufacturers. The Court said the EC had requested the review on the pricing of ammonium nitrate from Russia following the expiration of the legal deadline for opening an investigation, according to an Interfax report.

“The European Commission has three months prior to the expiration of the measures to ensure that the evidence [provided in the request to review the duty] is sufficient, and it may request additional information,” the Court said in its ruling. “However, the Commission may not compensate for the lack of sufficient evidence in a request filed within the statutory deadline or replace missing or incomplete aspects of the request with new information.”

Asean-Potash Inks Deal for Thailand Potash Supply

China, News, News Briefs, Potash, Southeast Asia, Thailand

Asean-Potash Mining, a Laos-China joint venture, on June 24 signed a framework agreement with Thailand’s K.C. Salt International Co. Ltd. on supply and marketing cooperation. Under the agreement, Asean-Potash will supply from its Laos mining operation more than 200,000 mt of granular potash to the KP group under the one-year contract.

Asean-Potash said the agreement marks its first sales debut in the Thai market. The potash producer also reported that it had achieved a potash output of 5,728 mt/d as of May 19, and reports it now has nameplate production capacity of some 2 million mt/y of KCl at its operation in Khammouane province, 350 kilometers from Laos’ capital, Vientiane.

K+S Ups Stake in African Distribution Partner

Germany, News, News Briefs, South Africa

K+S Group said it has completed the acquisition of a 75% stake in the fertilizer business of South African trading company Industrial Commodities Holdings (Pty) Ltd. (ICH). The agreement to acquire the stake was announced on Jan. 26 (GM Jan. 27, p. 26). K+S and ICH have not commented on the transaction price.

The acquired fertilizer business will now be operated within the joint venture under the name Fertiva (Pty) Ltd. Fertiva will constitute a distribution network with the already existing K+S Group companies in Kenya and Uganda.

The other 25% of the shares in the new sales company will be held by two former ICH shareholders who previously managed the fertilizer business at ICH and are now also part of Fertiva’s management team.

“With this acquisition, K+S is further promoting the expansion of its core business and at the same time strengthening its activities in southern and eastern Africa,” K+S said.

ICH has been distributing K+S fertilizers in the southern part of Africa for more than 40 years, as well as products from other manufacturers. Sales volumes of ICH’s fertilizer business in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, totaled approximately 543,000 mt, according to K+S.

Uralchem Has No Plans for Angola N Plant Project

Africa, News, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Russia

Uralchem said it has no plans to pursue its long-considered project to build a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Angola, according to a fertilizerdaily report, citing Uralchem JSC Chairman Dimitry Tatyanin. The Russian fertilizer group was first reported to have terminated the project in late 2020 (GM Dec. 4, 2020).

Uralchem and Angola’s Grupa Opaia SA signed a Memorandum of Construction (MOC) for an ammonia and urea plant in the country in October 2019 (GM Oct. 25, 2019). The plant was to have 1.2-1.3 million mt/y of urea capacity, and output would go to both the domestic and export markets.

Tatyanin said Uralchem remains open to signing joint venture projects around the globe, but currently does not plan any company acquisitions.

Centrex Inks Offtake with Ravensdown

Australia, News, News Briefs, Oceania, Phosphate Rock

South Australia-based Centrex Ltd. has signed a binding offtake agreement with New Zealand-based fertilizer cooperative Ravensdown Ltd. for the sale of phosphate rock from its Ardmore phosphate mine located south of Mount Isa in northwest Queensland.

The offtake agreement, which began on July 1, is for a term of two-and-a-half years, with Ravensdown committed to purchase approximately15,000 mt of phosphate rock in the first year, Centrex reported in a July 3 ASA release.

Allocations for the subsequent year will be mutually agreed upon by the two parties, as is the price per ton, which will be negotiated within 45 days prior to each quarter for the following quarter.

Centrex said it has set aside 20% of production at Ardmore to fulfil its projected allocation under the offtake agreement with Ravensdown. The offtake deal follows a trial shipment to the New Zealand fertilizer cooperative in April 2022.

The deal is Centrex’s third offtake agreement for the Ardmore mine. The company announced the signing of a market agreement with South Korea’s Samsung C&T in February, shipping the first consignment in May (GM May 26, p. 32).

In March, Centrex inked a binding offtake with Ameropa Australia Pty Ltd. (GM March 31, p. 27), and also signed a binding offtake deal with New Zealand’s other fertilizer cooperative, Balance Agri Nutrients Ltd.

Mining started at Ardmore in August 2021. The operation has a current capacity of 120,000 mt/y, but Centrex is pursuing an expansion to 524,000 mt/y.

Ardmore is a satellite deposit to the main Duchess mining operations, which feeds the adjacent Phosphate Hill ammonium phosphate fertilizer plant owned by Southern Cross Fertilisers Pty Ltd./Incitec Pivot Ltd. Phosphate reserves at Ardmore provide for a 10-year mining life. The Duchess mine produces about 2.1 million mt/y, with more than 50 years of mine life remaining.

Nigeria 2022 Fert Consumption Drops 30%

News, News Briefs, Nigeria

Nigeria’s fertilizer consumption fell by 30% last year, to 1,298,505 million mt from 1,859,306 mt in 2021, according to a report by The Nation newspaper, citing fertilizer statistics provider AfricaFertilizer.

In terms of individual products, the report said urea consumption in 2022 totalled 959,980 mt, while ammonium sulfate consumption was 188,740 mt. Consumption of DAP and MOP fell to 118,678 mt and 34,996 mt, respectively, according to the data.

The rise in Nigeria’s urea consumption has been boosted by an increase in local production in recent years (GM June 30, p. 27). The imported DAP and MOP is used mainly for local blending.

According to The Nation, citing AfricaFertilizer Senior Fertilizer Market Analyst Samuel Ali, much progress has been made on the country’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in fertilizer production in recent years, particularly in NPK blending capacity.

AfricaFertilizer is hosted by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and supported by several partners, including the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and Washington-based Development Gateway.

Norwegian Phosphate Project Progresses

News, News Briefs, Norway, Phosphate, United Kingdom

Norge Mining, a UK-registered company with an office in Egersund, Norway, is planning to move a project based on a massive Norwegian deposit of critical raw materials, including phosphate, on to the next stage of mining production following the completion of an exploration phase (GM Jan. 29, 2021).

The huge underground ore body, located in the Dalane region in sparsely populated southwestern Norway, is estimated to contain at least 70 billion mt of phosphate-containing materials, according to Norge Mining. This would make it the world’s largest phosphate deposit, ahead even of Morocco’s 50 billion mt.

Besides phosphates, two other important minerals – vanadium and titanium – have been found at the site and are classified by the EU as critical raw materials used in the aerospace and defense industries.

Norge Mining initially made the discovery in 2018 based on information provided by the Norwegian Geological Survey. The company has completed two drilling programs in two zones of the ore body, which was originally estimated to extend 300 meters below the surface, but was in fact found to be running 4,500 meters deep.

Norge Mining Founder Michael Wurmser said the Norwegian government has been “very supportive” of the project, proclaiming last December that all critical raw materials projects in Norway would be subject for “fast-track” approval, according to a report by European news website Euractiv.

Norge Mining does not need to secure funding, according to the report, because it already has listed interest from companies in Europe, the US, and Japan, including “two significant airplane manufacturers” that are interested in titanium supplies.

In its March proposal for a Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act, the European Commission (ED) classified phosphorus and phosphate rock as “critical” but not as “strategic” minerals, which are subject to a 40% home production benchmark and fast-track permitting rules.

While acknowledging that phosphorus is “a highly relevant material for battery chemistries and digitalization,” the EC said reserves of phosphate rock are “abundant” and therefore do not need to be classified as strategic.

The proposed CRM Act is currently being assessed by the European Parliament and EU Member States with a view to a possible final adoption later this year.