Winnipeg-Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) on Jan. 24 reached a tentative contract agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW), averting a strike action that CAW had set for Jan. 25 at 12:01 a.m. (GM Jan. 17, p. 11). The deal with CAW, which represents 3,975 mechanical workers, clerical/intermodal employees, excavator operators, and owner-operator truck drivers at CN and one of its subsidiaries, was reached after a 48-hour negotiation between the two parties. According to a Jan. 24 announcement by CN, the agreement will, upon ratification, provide fair wage and benefit increases to CAW members, and also contain progressive provisions that would help CN retain and attract skilled employees critical to its workforce in the years ahead. CN reported that full details of the tentative agreements are being withheld pending ratification, which the CAW expects to complete before the end of February. Earlier, CN reported that it had established a contingency service plan to operate the railway in the event of a strike, with management personnel performing the tasks of CAW members. The CAW remains in contract negotiations with 2,100 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) employees, with a strike deadline set for 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 8. CAW representatives stated in January that the CP labor dispute centers on both monetary and non-monetary issues, including CP’s plans to close its Ogden shops in Calgary. CP reported on Jan. 13 that it has trained about 1,200 managers and has a contingency plan in place to operate the railway in the event of a strike. Negotiations between CAW and the railways started last fall with collective agreements expiring at the end of 2010. The fertilizer and chemical industries are closely monitoring the labor dispute since past strikes and lockouts have caused significant disruptions to chemical and fertilizer shipments, as was the case in early 2007 when some 2,800 unionized workers at CN went on strike over a disputed pay raise (GM Feb. 12, 2007).

St. Louis-An ominous spring flooding report for the upper Midwest was released in advance of last week’s heavy snows in the region. The Spring Flood Outlook, released by the National Weather Service’s St. Louis office in late January, predicts moderate to major flooding on the Mississippi River, noting that soils are saturated and tributaries are already running high in northern states, while winter precipitation levels continue to build throughout the Midwest and Northern Plains. Weather Service officials said computer models show the greatest flood risk in eight years along the Mississippi, with some locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois facing an 80 percent probability of major flooding this spring. Serious flooding risks are not as great along the Missouri and Illinois Rivers, the report said, nor along areas of the Mississippi below St. Louis due to 2010 drought conditions in southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois.

Washington-The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) reported on Feb. 1 that the Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued its final rule incorporating several long-standing special permits into the federal hazardous materials regulations. Special permits 10950 and 13554, held by TFI on behalf of its members, were included in this rulemaking. The effective date of the final rule is March 3, but voluntary compliance is authorized immediately. As a result of this final rule, TFI reported, nurse tanks mounted on field trucks (SP-10950) and nurse tanks with missing or illegible dataplates (SP-13554) will no longer need to be marked with the special permit number, but the requirements contained in the special permits for continued operation will still need to be met. TFI said PHMSA is not addressing any alterations to these special permits as several associations suggested. For example, the FarWest Agribusiness Association suggested that PHMSA extend the 50 mile limitation in SP-10950 to 100 miles, and TFI suggested that PHMSA require the same testing of all nurse tanks, not just those with missing or illegible dataplates. PHMSA stated that any modifications will need to be submitted as a petition for rulemaking. In this regard, TFI said it previously submitted a petition for rulemaking for testing of all nurse tanks, and PHMSA will be addressing that petition in a separate rulemaking proceeding.

Regina, Sask.-BHP Billiton said Feb. 2 that the Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan has progressed into the feasibility study phase, which it calls an advanced stage of the BHP project approvals process. BHP says the decision further highlights its ongoing commitment to the project, the Province of Saskatchewan, and Canada. In December 2010, BHP submitted the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (GM Jan. 3, 2011). In January 2010, BHP allotted pre-commitment funding of US$240 million to support the early development of Jansen. BHP has commenced drilling and site preparation for the ground freezing process that is required prior to the sinking of the production and service shafts. Based on the current schedule, BHP says Jansen is expected to start producing saleable potash from its 3,370 million mt in-situ mineral resource in calendar year 2015. The project is designed to produce approximately 8 million mt/y of agricultural grade potash over an estimated 70-year life. “We are very pleased to announce that Jansen has now moved into the next phase of its development,” said Graham Kerr, president of BHP Billiton Diamonds and Specialty Products. “The Jansen Project has the potential to become one of the world’s premier potash mines and the platform for a significant and scalable potash business for BHP Billiton.” BHP said it will also continue its community development program as Jansen progresses, ensuring that local communities, Métis, and First Nations benefit from their growth in Saskatchewan.

Calais, France-The final elements are still not in place, but Huntsman Corp. is moving toward investing 30 million to increase fertilizer production at its pigments division plant in Calais. Huntsman officials have agreed in principle to build a new magnesium sulfate fertilizer manufacturing operation at the division’s titanium dioxide pigments manufacturing plant, subject to finalizing the permits and a number of other elements that are all on track. They say the project will yield a number of economic and environmental improvements. The pigments division already has a significant presence in the fertilizer market, both from Calais, where magnesium-based fertilizers have been marketed for more than 10 years, and from other sites, including Huelva in Spain, according to Terry Walsh, pigments division eco products director. “The decision to expand our existing presence in magnesium sulfate was made for a number of reasons, but a key driver was our desire to provide sustainable solutions to the challenge of feeding a growing global population,” Walsh stated. The new plant will use spent acid from pigment manufacturing operations at Calais.

Moscow-OJSC Uralkali said Feb. 3 that following a hearing to consider preliminary measures sought by OJSC Acron and Licona International Ltd. in connection with a claim brought by them against OJSC Silvinit in the Perm Territory Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court, the court rejected the preliminary measures sought by the claimants and scheduled a hearing for March 11 to consider the merits of the claim. The claimants have sought to invalidate the decision of the Silvinit board of directors on Dec. 20, 2010, (GM Jan. 3, 2011) to approve the decisions related to the proposed merger with Uralkali. As a result of the court’s decision, the Silvinit extraordinary general shareholders meeting scheduled for Feb. 4 to consider the proposed merger with Uralkali will proceed as planned. Silvinit believes that the claims are entirely without merit and intends to contest them vigorously.

Woodland Park, N.J.-Cytec Industries Inc. said Jan. 31 that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Building Block Chemicals business, with 2010 sales of $600 million, to an affiliate of HIG Capital LLC. Total consideration to be received of $180 million includes cash consideration of $165 million at closing and a note for $15 million. The unit’s product lines include acrylonitrile, sulfuric acid, and melamine, which are produced mostly for third-party sale. The unit is an industrial buyer of anhydrous ammonia. In the case of acrylonitrile and melamine, a portion of the production is for internal use, with acrylonitrile used in the manufacture of carbon fiber and melamine used in the manufacture of certain coating resins. All products are manufactured at its world-scale, highly integrated facility located in Fortier, La. Included in the transaction are the sales, marketing, manufacturing, R&D, and technical service personnel, and the aforementioned manufacturing site in Fortier. At closing, the companies will also execute long-term supply agreements for acrylonitrile and melamine at market pricing. The purchaser has agreed to offer employment to the approximately 445 employees who are involved in the operations of this business. “This transaction, when completed, will allow us to put more attention and resources on our core growth platforms of Engineered Materials, In Process Separations and Waterborne and Radcure Coating Resins, focusing on organic growth and possible bolt-on acquisitions,” said Shane Fleming, Cytec chairman, president, and CEO. “With an outstanding performance in 2010, it is an appropriate time to divest the business.” Excluding the impact of the anticipated gain on this transaction and the loss of operating earnings related to the divestiture of the unit, the transaction is expected to reduce Cytec continuing earnings in 2011 by approximately $0.15 per diluted share. This is mostly attributable to the impact of the new supply agreements at market pricing for melamine and acrylonitrile, and assumes current high market prices throughout 2011.

Oslo-While Yara International ASA expects to post a record fourth-quarter EBITDA for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2010, at NOK 3 billion versus the year-ago NOK 1.39 billion, on Feb. 4 the company forewarned that results will be below market expectations due to write-downs (NOK 165 million) for its stake in Burrup Fertiliser Pty Ltd., delays in deliveries, phasing of sales within the quarter, and somewhat higher fixed costs than in the third quarter. In light of the positive market development globally and in Europe, Yara has deferred some sales into 2011 to benefit from the positive price trend. Yara says its remaining asset value for its stake in Burrup is approximately NOK 1.7 billion. Final Yara results will be released Feb. 15.