Sulfuric Acid
U.S. Gulf: The Gulf sulfuric acid market was flat in a range of $75-$90/mt CFR.
All Posts from June 15, 2015
DPCs Miller acquires PlantBioTech
Hanover, Penn. — Miller Chemical & Fertilizer LLC has acquired substantially all of the assets of PlantBioTech Inc., Deming, N.M., a provider of plant growth regulators, soil conditioners, seaweed fertilizers, and related products. While the owners were based in New Mexico, their products were manufactured elsewhere, mainly in the Midwest, according to company sources. Founded in 1937, Miller Chemical manufactures and distributes non-hazardous crop protection adjuvants and nutritional agrichemical products designed to improve plant and crop production quality and yield. Miller sells its products into the farming and agriculture industries, with customers in 90 different countries. Miller has operations in eight other countries. Miller is a portfolio company of Dunes Point Capital LLC (DPC), Rye, N.Y. DPC previously acquired Miller in 2014. Founded in 2013, DPC is a private investment firm pursuing control investments in companies operating in the general industrial and energy sectors. DPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of White Group Holdings, targets companies with enterprise values of up to $500 million.
Quick action saves fertilizer in poly tanks
Park River, N.D. — A cleanup crew from North Star Cooperative was able to save roughly half of the liquid fertilizer contained in two poly tanks that fell off a trailer on June 2 near Park River, N.D. The two tanks, which contained 1,500 gallons of 10-34-0 and UAN-28, rolled off the trailer and slid into a ditch while the tow truck was turning around on a gravel road. Tim Faust, general manager at North Star, said the tank caps came off during the incident, but quick action by the crew saved half of the fertilizer. “Considering what could have happened, this didn’t turn out that bad,” Faust said. “Fortunately we were able to pump about half of the fertilizer before it all got soaked up in the ground.” Faust said the salvaged product would be spread on a local field.
Fertilizer rig totaled on Thunder Road
Holy Cross, Iowa — The driver of a rig loaded with granulated urea fertilizer was taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque with non-life threatening injuries after he lost control around noon on May 18 and rolled the truck. “Our truck was in the accident and we reported it to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which requested that we take care of the fertilizer or hire somebody else to do it,” Three Rivers Farm Service Manager Dale Hevel told Green Markets. “So we cleaned it up, hauled it away, and land-applied it.” He said approximately three tons were recovered, but that the truck was a loss. The driver was cited for failure to maintain control. DNR officials said the accident occurred on Thunder Road, which was closed only a brief time during the cleanup. Three Rivers Farm Service is located at Earlville.
Hazmat team fixes leaking ammonia tank
Bloomfield, Iowa — The quick response by a hazardous materials team prevented the spread of anhydrous ammonia leaking from a tank here on May 19. The tank, carrying 150 gallons, came off a truck on a busy highway and rolled into a ditch. Davis County Sheriff Dave Davis said when it rolled off it snapped the safety chain and smashed the metal shield over the relief valve. Ottumwa County Hazmat sent in a team in protective suits and breathing apparatus to cap it off in less than an hour. Davis estimated that at least half of the tank’s contents escaped. “Fortunately there was only one home nearby and the residents weren’t there,” said Davis. “A lumber yard a half-mile to the west could tell we were definitely having a problem, because they were getting drift.”
Excavation saves fish from N spill
Milton, Ind. — Emergency responders fearing a serious fish kill apparently succeeded in keeping a 1,300-1,400 gallon spill of liquid nitrogen from getting into Whitewater River on May 3 by concentrating on an excavation effort that reached two feet deep in some spots. “It may have all absorbed into the soil,” reported Barry Sneed with the Indiana Department of Emergency Response. “We were trying to beat the rain and control any runoff the rain may cause.” He said the digging penetrated more than two feet on the west side of a state roadway, where in most cases 6 inches would do the job. Three hours after the incident there weren’t any significant amounts of nitrogen in the water, and live fish were spotted. The farmer was applying nitrogen to his field when the 1,500-gallon tank fell off a flat-bed trailer.
The Week in Fertilizer Stocks
The Week in Fertilizer Stocks
| Producer | Symbol | Price | Week Ago | Year Ago |
| Agrium | AGU | 104.17 | 103.90 | 91.07 |
| CF Industries | CF | 319.26 | 318.47 | 239.25 |
| CVR Partners | UAN | 12.71 | 13.71 | 17.87 |
| Intrepid Potash | IPI | 11.18 | 11.25 | 16.15 |
| Mosaic | MOS | 44.85 | 44.58 | 48.81 |
| PotashCorp | POT | 30.48 | 30.81 | 35.99 |
| Rentech Nitrogen | RNF | 14.75 | 14.58 | 16.27 |
| Terra Nitrogen | TNH | 121.36 | 128.65 | 139.97 |
| Distribution/Retail | ||||
| Andersons Inc. | ANDE | 41.08 | 41.29 | 53.15 |
| Deere & Co. | DE | 93.21 | 91.87 | 91.42 |
| Scotts | SMG | 60.39 | 60.10 | 60.07 |
Ammonia
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: There was nothing new to report in the Tampa market. Sources speculated that July may see a price rollover, as there doesn’t appear to be too much headway in either direction.
The long-stagnant NOLA ammonia barge is getting an NA this week, as it has been a long, long time since fresh business was confirmed. That said, some argue that the NOLA barge market is primed for more activity now that new production is coming online in the area within the next six months and beyond. The same was also predicted when OCI returned the Beaumont, Texas, ammonia plant to production and PotashCorp built capacity at Geismar, La. Should activity resume, the price will make a return.
The NYMEX natural gas price closed June 11 at $2.825/mmBtu, up from June 4’s $2.626/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia demand was “basically dead” in the Eastern Cornbelt last week, according to sources. The last done spot business in Illinois was quoted at the $595/st FOB level, with the upper end tagged in the $610-$620/st range in Indiana.
Western Cornbelt: Nebraska sources reported limited ammonia demand for sidedress applications on sandy ground last week. The market was pegged at $565-$570/st FOB on the low end in Nebraska, with the upper end quoted at the $590-$600/st FOB level in Iowa and Missouri.
Several sources said they anticipate much lower prices when summer fill programs are offered in the region.
Southern Plains: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $520-$540/st FOB regional production points for spot tons, with the upper end of the range pegged at $565-$570/st FOB Kansas pipeline terminals.
One source reported rumors of at least one ammonia fill program offer at the $480/st FOB level out of a regional production site for tons delivered in the third or fourth quarter. “The pricing offer wasn’t quite as aggressive as what I was thinking,” he said, noting that no other programs were circulating yet last week.
South Central: The anhydrous ammonia market was reported at $585-$595/st FOB in the region for the last business, with the low at Memphis, Tenn., and the upper end FOB Henderson, Ky.
Black Sea: It seems prices have stagnated. With levels at $380-$390/mt FOB, sources say the Yuzhnyy ammonia market may have ended its downward trend.
Middle East: Higher prices seem to be the norm in the Arab Gulf. First Trammo paid $404/mt FOB to Sabic late last month, and then followed up with another purchase at the same level with Fertil.
While most of the product moving out of the area is based on contracts, the Trammo business represents spot business and is a good reflection of the shape of the market in general.
Southeast Asia: Kaltim sold 20,000-25,000 mt in an auction late last week to Mitsui. Sources say the deal closed at $437/mt FOB. Once sent on to its final home, sources estimate the price will reflect a nearly $50/mt increase in the delivered price.
Industry watchers are still scratching their heads trying to figure out who is desperate enough to accept such a large price increase in one shot.
India: Buyers are now looking at imported prices around $440/mt CFR from Iran. Product from other sources – notably Arab producers – is said to be running about $10-$20/mt higher, based on not only the source, but also the final discharge port.
Urea
U.S. Gulf: The prompt granular barge market shot up again last week, with trades reported in the $341-$370/st FOB range. Sources said those needing product were willing to pay up. Due to the Arkansas River closure, players reported a lot of activity on the Lower Mississippi with direct transfer off of barges so those tons could be trucked to the areas that needed it.
Sources estimated that prompt granular has some legs for at least a few more weeks before easing back off. Already, July was being quoted in the $305-$320/st FOB range.
The last done prills were called $295/st FOB, but most sources said there is no product available on a prompt basis. July was being quoted in the $310-$315/st FOB range. Yara was readying a vessel in Libya for a NOLA destination.
Eastern Cornbelt: Fueled by tight supply out of some river locations, granular urea had reportedly firmed to $375-$390/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported FOB Cincinnati, Ohio, and out of spot river locations in the Illinois market. “It’s a tightening market, and some supply is sold out,” said one Ohio contact last week.
Western Cornbelt: Urea was the hot topic among fertilizer sources in the Western Cornbelt last week, with many terminals running low.
One source in Missouri’s rice topdressing country quoted the river terminal market firmly at $395/st FOB for any available tons, and said spot pricing would likely firm to $400/st FOB in the near term. “Urea is on everyone’s mind,” he said. “Most terminals are either out or running out, and all are waiting on barges.”
Sources in Iowa and Nebraska quoted the low end of the regional urea market at the $375/st FOB level out of spot locations on the upper Mississippi River.
Southern Plains: Sources reported very tight urea supplies at Inola and Catoosa, Okla., due to navigational restrictions on the Arkansas River caused by high flows. “The Oklahoma port market is virtually empty of several products,” said one contact. “Urea timing is the most obvious and largest problem.”
The granular urea market was quoted at a firm $395-$400/st FOB or even higher last week, up $30/st from late May and a full $55/st higher than early May pricing levels. As one source said, however, “in reality there isn’t any to be had.”
One contact said southbound barge traffic on the Arkansas River would start up again over the coming weekend after weeks of closures. Traffic backlogs and slow movement, however, were expected to result in delays of barge arrivals in the Oklahoma market until later in June, said another source.
South Central: With topdress movement well underway on rice in the South Central region, the closure of the Arkansas River to commercial barge traffic has reportedly produced “record” urea demand from some terminals on the Lower Mississippi River. As a result, sources reported tight supplies and much higher spot prices last week.
Granular urea pricing was pegged at $385-$395/st FOB for available tons in the region, up $20/st from late May and $45/st higher than early May pricing levels in the region. Sources quoted the upper end in Arkansas and the low in Memphis, but there were reports that the Memphis market had also inched up to the $395/st FOB level as the week advanced.
“We have had spot outages, and loaded, moving urea barges are hard to find,” said one regional contact.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing out of port terminals in the Southeast was pegged in the $370-$375/st FOB range for limited tons, with several locations out of product in early June.
Indonesia: Kaltim backed off it
Nitrogen Solutions
U.S. Gulf: Imports have hit the NOLA dock and were put in the $202-$210/st ($6.31-$6.56/unit) FOB range, with more hopeful sellers quoting $210-$215/st ($6.56-$6.72/unit) FOB last week.
The last done East Coast vessel trades were put as low as $216-$225/mt CFR, with sources saying price ideas have moved back up to the $225-$235/mt CFR range for the next round of sales.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 pricing in Illinois was pegged at $285-$295/st ($8.91-$9.22/unit) FOB river terminals, with the low end of the range down another $5/st from last report. UAN-28 pricing was also lower at $250-$270/st ($8.93-$9.64/unit) FOB in Ohio and Indiana, with the low FOB Cincinnati.
There were reports of summer fill UAN being offered for as low as $245/st ($7.66/unit) FOB in Illinois on a spot basis for tons pulled after July 15. One source said fill buyers were even “gun shy” at that low level, however. “There’s a lot of negativity related to low corn prices,” he said.
Western Cornbelt: Sources reported some UAN movement for corn sidedress in the Western Cornbelt last week, as weather and field conditions allowed.
The UAN-32 market had reportedly slipped to $285-$300/st ($8.91-$9.38/unit) FOB for prompt tons in the region, down roughly $10-$15/st from last report. One Iowa contact said the window was rapidly closing due to rapid corn growth in his area, and a Missouri source said sidedress demand was already over in his location.
Southern Plains: UAN-32 was quoted at $270-$275/st ($8.44-$8.59/unit) FOB out of coastal terminals and regional production points in the Southern Plains.
South Central: UAN-32 was quoted at $280-$290/st ($8.75-$9.06/unit) FOB terminals in the South Central region, down $5/st from last report.
Southeast: The UAN-32 market in the Southeast had reportedly slipped to $245-$250/st ($7.66-$7.81/unit) FOB port terminals, down $5/st from last report. The slipping terminal market was attributed to slower demand and weaker import vessel pricing.
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All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
For additional details visit our Terms of Use.