All Posts from April 14, 2014

Ammonia

Ammonia, Aqua Ammonia, California, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The Tampa market was quiet at $580/mt CFR.

May NYMEX closed April 10 at $4.655/mmBtu, up from April 3’s $4.470/mmBtu.

Eastern Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia pricing in the Eastern Cornbelt remained at $650-$680/st FOB regional terminals, with the low in Illinois and the upper end out of Indiana terminals.

Although very little planting was underway in the Eastern Cornbelt due to low soil temperatures, sources said preplant fertilizer applications were going down at a brisk pace in areas where fields were dry.

The lingering effects of a late and hard winter continued to impact rail and barge shipments of fertilizer, however. “Rail transportation is still a huge bottleneck, and it doesn’t seem to be improving or expected to improve anytime soon,” said one source. “This is putting additional pressure on truck demand.”

As for barges, a near-record amount of ice on lakes and rivers in the northern Cornbelt has slowed upriver movement. One source noted that commercial barges would normally be in St. Paul, Minn., by this time of year, but tows had barely reached the Illinois/Wisconsin border by early April.

Western Cornbelt: The fieldwork pace was picking up in parts of the Western Cornbelt last week, although wet ground continued to delay activity in some locations.

One Missouri contact said his trade area received anywhere from a half-inch to 5 inches of rain during the first week of April. As a result, many Missouri locations south of Interstate 70 remained too wet for fieldwork last week.

“We need lots of sunshine,” said one southern Missouri source at midweek. “There’s been no fieldwork so far this week, but probably by Friday we’ll get back in the field.”

Fertilizer supplies remained snug in the region, and sources were concerned that outages will become common as the application pace picks up. “Two weeks of hard running, and everyone will be scrambling for product,” said one contact.

Northern areas of the Cornbelt and the Northern Plains region were facing the most critical logistics hurdles this spring due to ongoing rail and barge delays. Sources said cold weather earlier in the season caused locomotive problems and forced rail carriers to reduce speed and unit train size, resulting in efficiency rates falling to only 46-48 percent. Once the system fell behind, it has been unable to catch up. “In the Dakotas, there’ll be a real problem,” said one contact last week. “They’re depending on rail to get fed, and it’s just not happening.”

Fertilizer prices remained firm in the region last week. One source said the preplant ammonia run was nearly over in central Missouri after a hectic application pace, but had not even started yet in some northern areas of the state. “There’s still quite a bit to go,” he said.

The anhydrous ammonia market remained in a broad range at $595-$670/st FOB regional terminals, with the upper end out of spot Iowa locations. Nebraska sources pegged the terminal market at $595-$615/st FOB on the low end, while Missouri contacts quoted the Palmyra, Mo., market at $650-$660/st FOB. Delivered tons were reported in the $650-$670/st range in Missouri from southern production points.

Southern Plains: Southern Plains sources reported a hectic fieldwork pace in early April, with corn planting well underway and cotton planting starting in Texas.

USDA reported that 10 percent of the Texas cotton crop was planted by April 6, slightly ahead of last year’s pace and the five-year average. “It’s been a very hectic two months, but we are getting quite a bit of corn in the ground so it is slowing down,” said one Kansas c

Sulfur

Market Watch, Sulfur, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Vancouver, West Coast

Tampa: Mosaic and PotashCorp settled with their sulfur suppliers on a price for the second quarter, the companies announced separately, agreeing to pay $133/lt for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa. The new price represents a $23/lt DEL increase over the first-quarter price of $110/lt DEL.

The speed of the settlement took many observers by surprise, as many assumed phosphate producers might choose to delay negotiations closer to the traditional third-quarter lull in phosphate and sulfur prices to leverage a better deal.

Speculation on the causes of the swift settlement varied widely. Some said sulfur suppliers weren’t sold on the strength of the phosphate market and sought to capitalize before prices fell. Others said a pronounced drop in sulfur prices internationally, though still well above the Tampa price, translated to unstable prices domestically. Still others said sulfur suppliers’ first offer was low and was snapped up right away.

Alternatively, some sources believed conditions were simply returning to a more stable and predictable cycle. One source said protracted quarterly sulfur negotiations were a relatively recent development, and had only become the norm in the last several quarters.

Regardless of why, the rapid timing of the settlement lent credence to the notion that buyers and sellers were “more or less on the same page,” as one source said.

Operating rates at U.S. refineries fell slightly for the week ending April 4, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, dipping to 87.5 percent from the previous week’s 87.7 percent. The operating rate was ahead of the 86.8 percent posted for the same week of 2013, and also ahead of the five-year average of 84.8 percent.

U.S. Gulf: The price of prilled sulfur in the Gulf was pegged at $150-$160/mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week.
Vancouver: The spot price of sulfur at Vancouver was quoted in a range of $140-$180/mt FOB.

Sulfur delivered from Alberta rose to (-)$30-(+)$60/mt, based on the new Tampa price.

West Coast: West Coast sulfur was said to trade in a range of $145-$160/mt FOB, down from the previous range of $150-$165/mt FOB.

Benelux: Sources said negotiations for the second-quarter Benelux price had not concluded as of April 10, and the price remained at $130-$144/mt.

ADNOC: The price of sulfur from ADNOC was $170/mt for April, a decrease from the March price of $180/mt.

Potash

Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Potash Muriate, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Prompt potash barges have spiked in recent weeks, and were still fairly firm last week. Sources called the market $340-$345/st FOB.

Eastern Cornbelt: Potash was steady at $370-$377/st FOB regional warehouse in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low for red and the upper end for white granular tons.

Western Cornbelt: Potash pricing was firm in the Western Cornbelt, with sources quoting the market consistently at $370/st FOB regional warehouses for red granular tons and $377/st FOB for white.

The K-Mag market was reported at the $465/st FOB mark on a spot basis in Iowa last week.

Southern Plains: The potash market was quoted at $365-$375/st FOB regional warehouses in the Southern Plains, up $10/st from last report. The Carlsbad, N.M., potash market remained at $350-$360/st FOB for new sales into the region, depending on grade.

South Central: The potash market had reportedly firmed to $370-$380/st FOB warehouses in the South Central region, up a full $15-$20/st from last report, with the Memphis market quoted firmly at the upper end of that range.

Southeast: Potash pricing out of warehouses in the Southeast had reportedly firmed to $375-$377/st FOB for truck tons. Sources pegged the rail-DEL market at the $375/st level as well, but, as one source put it, the rail market is “too backed up to be relevant for this season.” One source said he was still waiting on tons ordered much earlier this year at the $355/st rail-DEL level.

India: Canpotex Ltd. announced that it has agreed to an annual contract with its government and private sector partners in India to supply approximately 1 million mt of potash, for shipment through March 31, 2015, at a price of US$322/mt CFR. The price is in line with Uralkali’s recent business into India.

“We are very pleased to conclude these new supply contracts with our long-term Indian customers, and continue our role as a leading potash supplier to this important market,” said Steven Dechka, Canpotex president and CEO

Phosphates

Bangladesh, Central Florida, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Phosphate Rock, Southeast, Southern Plains, Triple Superphosphate, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

Central Florida: Below-average temperatures continued in the Northeast, while a significant storm system pounded the Southeast with heavy rainfall.

Sales of truck-loaded DAP, quoted at $465/st FOB, resumed after a week off, and Mosaic’s posted phosphate prices were static at $460/st FOB for DAP and $480/st FOB for MAP.

Rail transit was spotty at best, with delays of up to three weeks not uncommon for shipments out of Florida. Sources said the logistics uncertainties weighed heavily on the market, as buyers were hesitant to pull the trigger on product that might be delayed beyond the spring application season.

The Central Florida phosphate market was unchanged at $460-$465/st FOB, based on limited transactions and Mosaic’s posted price. MAP was quoted $5-$15/st FOB over DAP, although no transaction were reported.

U.S. Gulf: Uncertain loading times were a pervading theme on the river. A dearth of loaded-and-moving barges prompted a slowdown in transactions, though sellers lucky enough to have a barge in hand reaped big premiums over those promising future load dates.

Moving barge transactions of up to $500/st FOB for DAP were quoted, while load dates for later in April were reported as low as $480/st FOB.

Looming imports also suppressed market activity for the week, sources said. A pair of Moroccan vessels, the Fassa and the LMZ Phoebe, were said to be en route. The cargo of the first vessel, which was scheduled in port as soon as April 12, had been “nearly or completely” sold prior to arrival at a reported $485/st FOB offer level, while the other was estimated at two weeks away. A third ship, the Britain Bay, was sitting at the loading dock in Morocco, and may be the vessel rumored to have been canceled during the previous reporting period.

Adding to the phosphate landscape was the appearance of DAP barges marketed by Interoceanic, said to be offering Mississippi Phosphate Co.’s newly reconverted DAP product domestically.

Sources indicated that while uncertain load dates were still causing headaches, towing pickup times had begun to lessen on the river and logistics hurdles were slowly clearing.

Conditions for northern transit were said to be improving, and the first tow to Twin Cities terminals was expected to depart St. Louis, Mo., soon and arrive on April 25. Overall, the upper river was expected to open 10-14 days later than last year.

Repairs to the main chamber of the Melvin Price Lock on the upper Mississippi River caused transit delays of 7-14 hours last week. Rock pinnacle removal at Thebes, Ill., responsible for considerable delays in recent months, was officially halted for the season, with work set to resume in December.

Transit on the Illinois River will be closed from May 20-21 at the LaGrange Lock, and daylight travel on the Ohio River was prohibited in the Jefferson/Louisville area from April 10-12 due to an air show.

A scheduled repair on the Newt Graham Lock will close the Arkansas River from May 12-20, and the Ozark-Taylor Lock will be closed during daylight hours from May 12-20.

The lower Mississippi will be closed during daylight hours on Monday through Friday until April 15 at Spanish Moss, and delays of 17-20 hours were reported at the New Orleans-area Industrial Lock.

Despite the difficulties, river transit was still much preferred to rail, where delays as great as six weeks were reported in some northern locations.

Corn and soybean futures were up from the previous week, while wheat contracts were down.

May 2014 corn contracts were $5.0125/bushel, up from the previous week’s $5.00/bushel, while July 2014 corn firmed to $5.0725/bushel from the prior week’s $5.0525/bushel. December 2014 corn was also up at $5.05/bushel, compared with $5.015/bushel

Ammonium Sulfate

Ammonium Sulfate, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt: The granular ammonium sulfate market remained at $285-$305/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported in Illinois and Indiana and the upper end FOB inland terminals in Ohio.

Effective April 10, Honeywell’s granular ammonium sulfate postings firmed to $300/st FOB Wisconsin terminals at Amherst Junction and Prairie du Chien, and Illinois terminals at Danville, Granite City, and Mapleton. April 10 mid-grade ammonium sulfate postings included $260/st FOB Danville and Byron, Ill., and Roseport, Minn.

Ammonium thiosulfate pricing was quoted at $340-$350/st FOB in the region.

Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was quoted at $275-$285/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up $5/st from last report. Another posted increase was scheduled to take effect on April 10, with Honeywell moving its granular ammonium sulfate postings up on that date to $300/st FOB Dubuque, Iowa, and Roseport, Minn., and $305/st FOB Omaha, Neb.

Ammonium thiosulfate remained at $310-$355/st FOB, with the low in Iowa and the upper end in Missouri. A Nebraska contact pegged the common dealer market last week at $315/st FOB.

Southern Plains: The granular ammonium sulfate market in the Southern Plains remained at $260-$295/st FOB Texas shipping points, with the low FOB Freeport and the upper end FOB Littlefield and Plainview. Coarse grade was $10/st lower and standard $20/st lower than granular.

Ammonium thiosulfate was pegged at $300-$320/st FOB in the region, depending on location.

South Central: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $270-$275/st FOB in the South Central region. The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged as well at $315-$335/st FOB, with the low at Memphis.

Southeast: Although dealers were still receiving tons ordered earlier at prices $20/st lower, the current market for new orders of granular ammonium sulfate was quoted at $280-$285/st FOB in the Southeast, with delivered pricing at $290/st DEL in the Carolinas, $300/st DEL in Georgia and Alabama, and $305/st DEL in Florida.

Standard grade ammonium sulfate postings included $210/st FOB Augusta, Ga., and $230/st DEL in Florida

Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium Nitrate, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: The market continued to be called $360-$365/st FOB. Sources said supplies remain tight, with a new vessel due in early May.

Western Cornbelt: The ammonium nitrate market was tagged at a broad range at $395-$415/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.

CAN-27 was quoted at the $330/st FOB level on a spot basis in Iowa last week.

Southern Plains: The ammonium nitrate market was quoted at a firm $410/st FOB in the Southern Plains, up $10/st from last report.

South Central: The ammonium nitrate market was quoted at $390-$400/st level FOB in the South Central region, with the low at Memphis and the upper end reported in the Arkansas market.

Southeast: The Tampa ammonium nitrate market had reportedly firmed to $390-$395/st FOB, up $5/st from last report, with sellers eying the $395-$400/st FOB range for the next round of business.

Nitrogen Solutions

Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, UAN, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: UAN barges were stable at $285-$290/st ($8.91-$9.06/unit) FOB, with little activity. Sources argued that NOLA numbers should come down, citing a weakening East Coast import market, which was called $300-$305/mt CFR.

Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-28 was steady at $290/st ($10.36/unit) FOB Cincinnati on the low end, with the upper end of the regional range reported at $310/st ($11.07/unit) FOB in Indiana. Illinois sources quoted the common dealer market for UAN-32 at the $350/st ($10.94/unit) FOB mark.

Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 pricing was quoted at $335-$355/st ($10.47-$11.09/unit) FOB regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported in Nebraska and the upper end in Iowa on a spot basis. Missouri sources pegged the common dealer price at the $340/st ($10.63/unit) FOB level last week.

Southern Plains: The UAN-32 market remained at $310/st ($9.69/unit) FOB production points in Southern Plains, with the low end of the regional range pegged at the $300/st ($9.38/unit) level FOB Gulf Coast terminals in Texas. Source pegged the upper end of the range at the $320/st ($10.00/unit) level FOB Kansas terminals.

South Central: UAN-32 pricing was down slightly at $325-$350/st ($10.16-$10.63/unit) FOB terminals in the South Central region, with the low reported out of the Memphis market.

Southeast: The UAN-32 market in the Southeast was pegged at $302.50-$310/st ($9.45-$9.69/unit) FOB regional terminals, with the lower numbers quoted out of Norfolk, Va., and Wilmington, N.C. The Savannah, Ga., UAN-32 market was reported in the $305-$310/st ($9.53-$9.69/unit) FOB range.

Urea

Bangladesh, China, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Indonesia, Market Watch, Middle East, Pakistan, Southeast, Southeast Asia, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Urea, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Prompt barges remained fairly strong last week, with only minor erosion. Most put the market between $380-$414/st FOB, with loaded and ready-to-go barges garnering the higher numbers.

Prills were reported to be slipping a little to $385-$395/st FOB. Some predicted a bigger drop farther out, with reports that $345/st FOB was doable for the end of April/May.

Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was quoted at $450-$470/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low at Cincinnati, Ohio, and the upper end out of inland shipping points.

Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was tagged in a broad range at $455-$470/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location. The upper end was quoted in Missouri on a spot basis, with sources reporting plenty of business at that level. An Iowa contact pegged the common dealer market last week at the $460/st FOB level in his trade area.

Southern Plains: Granular urea was quoted in the $455-$465/st range FOB the Tulsa, Okla., market, with supplies described as “very adequate.” The Houston, Texas, urea market was tagged at $455/st FOB last week.

South Central: The granular urea market remained at $445-$450/st FOB in the South Central region.

Southeast: Granular urea pricing was reported in the $440-$450/st range FOB port terminals in the Southeast, with most dealer quotes in the upper half of that range. Dealer reference prices remained as high as $460/st FOB on a spot basis in the region.

Strong thunderstorms pounded the Southeast early in the week, producing at least two tornadoes in North Carolina along with hail and heavy rainfall in parts of Alabama, Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia. “We are extremely wet across the whole state,” said one Georgia contact at midweek.

Fieldwork was limited in the Southeast last week, but several sources said activity was brisk the previous week. Sources continued to report rail shipping delays for replacement tons, and some also talked of limited truck availability for prompt business from local terminals.

Indonesia: Pusri held an auction for 30,000 mt of granular on April 11. At the last minute it added two 5,000 mt cargoes of prilled.

In the end, the auction was a bust for Pusri. The highest bid for the prills was $306/mt FOB, while the highest bid for the granular was $302.50/mt FOB. These bids came against floor prices of $325/mt FOB for granular and $320/mt FOB for prills.

The lower price for granular confirmed for many in the industry that a glut exists in the current market. One trader noted that while $325/mt FOB for Indonesian granular might be a good price in other situations, the market now is much lower than that – and buyers around the world know it.

The higher prilled price was written off to the small lot size and an apparent dearth of prills in Asia, thanks to the MMTC/India tender awards.

Pusri scrapped the tender and called another for just the granular tons. The auction closed with bids running from $285-$291/mt FOB. Pusri then stepped in to announce a floor price of $315/mt FOB.

The Pusri intervention pretty much threw cold water on the bidding. Sources say nothing happened for some time until Liven stepped up at the last minute with a $315/mt FOB bid. It took the lot.

At that level, sources say Liven will be hard pressed to sell the product to any of the usual major buyers. At first sources thought Australia could be the final destination – the price works – but Liven has to pick up the tonnage by the end of the month, and Australia is not expected to get serious about buying until mid-May.

Sources report that Indonesian urea warehouses are pretty full. Pressure is

Yara acquires majority of emission control business

News, News Briefs

Oslo — Yara International will expand its emissions control business by acquiring a majority 63 percent stake in Green Tech Marine (GTM), a leading sulfur oxide (SOX) scrubber supplier to the marine industry. “We are excited to get the GTM team onboard. New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations are being implemented, and combining GTM with our existing Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) portfolio will help the maritime industry cleanse their emissions and be compliant," said Yves Bonte, senior vice president and head of Yara’s Industrial Segment. Within the next ten years, ships worldwide will need equipment to comply with the latest IMO exhaust gas emission rules. Yara noted that starting Jan. 1, 2015, SOX Emission Control Areas will be established in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, The North American Atlantic Coast, and in the Caribbean. According to the DNV "Future Development in Maritime Shipping" report, more than 15,000 ships are expected to be equipped with SOX scrubbers by 2020, representing a potential market of roughly one billion euros. GTM, a subsidiary of Marine Global Group, is an independent provider that has developed a small footprint SOX scrubber that can be retrofitted into any seagoing vessel. "The synergies we have with Yara on technology development and market reach for maritime business, as well as their global reach, will allow us to take this business a step further and establish ourselves as a leading player in the global market," says Peter Strandberg, CEO of Green Tech Marine. The GTM investment is Yara’s third investment targeting leading technologies on emissions to air. Yara said adding leading technology to Yara’s global reach and delivery system positions Yara as a leader in the fast growing emissions control business, now targeting the marine sector. "In combining our existing portfolio of NOX technologies with SOX technologies, as well as with related supply of nitrogen based chemicals and services, we bring a unique total solution to the marine segment. This improves our delivery of a profitable business solution to harmful emissions to air," says Bonte. Yara said GTM has already been selected by several companies, including Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

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