U.S. Gulf: While sources generally argued that prices are under pressure, the last done trades continued to be called $280-$285/st ($8.75-$8.91/unit) FOB.
On the East Coast, sources said the recent $285/mt CFR business would be hard to repeat, with lower price ideas going forward. Sources say the next trades will likely occur in the $270-$275/mt CFR range, if not much lower.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-28 was pegged in a broad range at $285-$310/st ($10.18-11.07/unit) FOB terminals in Ohio and Indiana, with the low in Cincinnati. Illinois sources pegged the common dealer market in the $340-$345/st ($10.63-$10.78/unit) FOB range at mid-month.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 remained at $340-$350/st ($10.63-$10.94/unit) FOB most regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt.
Northern Plains: UAN-28 pricing in the Northern Plains was quoted in a very broad range last week, from a low of $315/st ($11.25/unit) FOB the Twin Cities to a high of $360/st ($12.86/unit) FOB Moorhead, Minn. No current delivered prices were reported in the region.
Great Lakes: Wisconsin sources pegged the low end of the UAN-32 range at $345-$350/st ($10.78-$10.94/unit) FOB, while Michigan contacts quoted the UAN-28 market at $311/st ($11.11/unit) FOB Toledo, Ohio, $314/st ($11.21/unit) FOB Webberville, and $315/st ($11.25/unit) FOB other Michigan terminals.
Northeast: The UAN-30 market had reportedly slipped to $280/st ($9.33/unit) FOB Baltimore, Md., down $10/st from last report, with UAN-32 pegged at the $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB level at Baltimore and Savannah.
UAN-32 pricing out of terminals in upstate New York remained at the $355/st ($11.09/unit) FOB level, with brisk movement reported. The UAN-32 market at East Liverpool was reported at $319.20/st ($11.40/unit) FOB last week.
El Camp, Tex. — Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC reported on May 12 that it has successfully acquired the seed, fertilizer, and crop protection assets of United Agricultural Cooperative Inc., headquartered in El Camp, Tex. United Ag will operate as part of Pinnacle’s Sanders brand. Pinnacle said the acquisition will enhance its retail presence in the southeast Texas market. United Ag has been serving agricultural communities along the Gulf Coast of Texas since 1982. The business began as Farmers Cooperative of El Campo (FCEC), and was formed by the consolidation of El Campo Farmers Cooperative and Modern Farmers Cooperative Society. FCEC merged with Danevang Farmers Cooperative in 2012, and the name was changed to United Agricultural Cooperative to better reflect the broad customer base and geographical area served by the co-op. Jimmy Schulz, former United Ag fertilizer and crop production manager, will take over management of the following five locations: 911 South Wharton Street, El Campo, Tex. 77437 (main office/warehouse); 100 South Meadow Lane, El Campo, Tex. 77437 (terminal/blend plant); 11338 Texas 71 S, Danevang, Tex. 77432; 116 South Wells Street, Edna, Tex. 77432; 1898 FM 1432, Victoria, Tex. 77905 (port). The current employees of United Ag will retain their positions under the new ownership. Founded in 2012, Pinnacle’s growing retail distribution business has recently been in a rapid expansion mode, announcing nine acquisitions in the last two months (GM May 12, p. 12; April 28, p. 12; March 31, p. 1; March 17, p. 1).
The board of directors of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Bismarck, N.D., announced that Paul Sukut has been named the fifth CEO and general manager of the cooperative. In this capacity, Sukut will also serve as president and CEO of Basin Electric subsidiary Dakota Gasification Company, which owns and operates the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, N.D. Dakota Gas produces anhydrous ammonia and ammonium sulfate (Dak Sul 45®) as co-products at the Beulah plant, and recently announced plans to add a 1,100 st/d urea production facility there as well (GM Feb. 3, p. 1). The urea plant is scheduled for completion in early 2017.
Sukut has been serving as interim CEO and general manager since January, and previously served as the cooperative’s chief financial officer. He has been employed with Basin Electric since 1983 and has worked in the energy industry since 1979.
Steve Johnson has been named vice president and CFO of Basin Electric. Johnson stepped into the interim CFO position in January, replacing Sukut. Johnson started at the cooperative in March 1982, having previously served as vice president and treasurer.
Tampa: The Canadian Syncrude plant was slated to return to production May 20 after a long hiatus. The plant, offline since the beginning of the year and initially estimated to return to production around Feb. 14, has seen consistent delays in its attempts to reopen.
The resurrection of the Syncrude plant is potentially significant to a multitude of North American sulfur markets. Sources said the plant is capable of producing around 1,000 mt of sulfur per day, an amount capable of sharply altering available supply once full production is reached – likely sometime in July.
Early in the shutdown, observers worried that the missing supply would prove to be an issue to the market. Although incremental sulfur supply has reportedly been tight in some quarters, large-volume buyers have consistently reported contract tons to be readily available throughout the outage. It remains to be seen, however, what effect the sudden influx of extra supply will have on prices.
U.S. refinery operating rates declined for a second consecutive week, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Total U.S. operating capacity for the week ending May 9 dipped to 88.8 percent, down 1.4 percent from the previous week’s 90.2 percent. The current numbers were slightly ahead of last year’s 88 percent and the five-year average of 87.2 percent, however.
The second-quarter price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa was $133/lt.
U.S. Gulf: The price of sulfur in the Gulf was $130-$145/mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week.
Vancouver: Sources speculated that Syncrude’s return to production could have a measurable effect on the international market, as a sizable portion of that supply could wind up tagged for export to countries like China, where sources said supply may be snug.
The Vancouver spot market was unchanged at $125-$140/mt FOB.
The extra Syncrude supply could also end up influencing the Alberta market, where incremental material was said to be tight in recent months. The price of sulfur sold from Alberta was quoted at (-)$30-(+)$85/mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week.
West Coast: Sulfur sold from the West Coast was static at $120-$135/mt FOB.
Benelux: The Benelux price was $158-$172/mt for the second quarter, an increase from the first-quarter price of $130-$144/mt.
ADNOC: The May ADNOC price was $145/mt, a decrease of $25/mt from the April price of $170/mt.
U.S. Gulf: The last done potash barge business continued to be called $345-$347/st FOB. Sources speculated that if barges were readily available, new business could top the $350/st FOB mark.
Eastern Cornbelt: The potash market in the Eastern Cornbelt was pegged at $377-$385/st FOB regional warehouses last week. Though sources continued to report tight inventories and outages at several locations, one contact commented that there “seems to be a little shaking loose” as demand slows down.
Western Cornbelt: Potash was steady at $370-$380/st FOB regional warehouses in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
Northern Plains: Minnesota sources tagged the granular potash market at $365-$370/st FOB regional warehouses, down slightly from last report, with delivered potash in North Dakota reported in the $365-$385/st range from Saskatchewan. The potash market FOB Saskatchewan mines remained in the $330-$340/st range to U.S. customers, depending on grade.
Great Lakes: Granular potash was quoted in the $377-$385/st FOB range in the Great Lakes region, although many warehouses were reportedly out of product at mid-month. Michigan contacts tagged truck-delivered potash in a wide range at $420-$460/st for replacement tons coming from out of state.
Northeast: The granular potash market was pegged at $380-$385/st FOB for the most recent business, with the low at Baltimore and the upper end FOB East Liverpool. Inventories were reportedly tapped out at East Liverpool, however. The upper end of the regional range remained at $390/st FOB Lewistown, Penn.
Central Florida: Sources said the long-running logistics issues still plaguing much of North America had largely cleared up in the Central Florida market, and that railcars had become available for shipping phosphates.
Sources noted, however, that buyers were largely uninterested in new product, having deemed the spring planting season too far concluded to get new product shipped and applied to fields before the end of planting.
Regardless, a handful of truck-loaded DAP sales were reported at levels of $465/st FOB, and resellers were said to be offering small quantities of rail-loaded DAP at $470/st FOB. Mosaic’s posted price for DAP was unchanged at $460/st FOB, with MAP listed $20/st FOB more.
As a result, prices in the Central Florida DAP market ranged from $460-$470/st FOB based on limited sales and offers and Mosaic’s posted price, a rise from $460-$465/st FOB the previous week. MAP was quoted in a range of $480-$490/st FOB, although no transactions were reported.
U.S. Gulf: Prices on the river continued to descend as the end of the spring planting season drew nearer. Lower prices prompted a round of buying, however, and sources said the overall volume of phosphate changing hands was considerably higher than in recent weeks.
Confirmed transactions were reported as low as $430/st FOB for a loaded barge at NOLA. Late-week offers in the neighborhood of $425/st FOB were rumored, but concluded transactions could not be verified at those levels. Moving NOLA barge sales were confirmed up to $440/st FOB.
Sources said offers were higher upriver, buoyed by terminal prices lingering north of $500/st FOB in many regions. Upriver prices were said to be “all over the place,” however, as a battle waged between sellers fervently hoping to minimize losses from barges bought earlier in the season, and buyers who knew prices were on the decline. MAP was said to draw little interest, and sources pegged prices at a $15-$20/st FOB premium to DAP in the current market.
Terminal operators reported prices of $490-$510/st FOB on the lower river markets, with upper river terminals fetching $510-$520/st FOB. MAP was in short supply at many terminals, but those who had it reported a $10-$15/st FOB premium over DAP.
Lacking much concrete information from either PotashCorp or OCP, rumors continued to swirl regarding the recently announced partnership between the two. Sources speculated that PotashCorp would buy roughly one phosphate cargo per month of Moroccan material to sell to U.S. customers, and Koch would likely shift its phosphate sourcing to Russia and China in lieu of tons from OCP.
Corn and wheat were falling on the futures market as of 4:00 p.m. on May 15, but soybeans were mixed.
Corn contracts for July 2014 clocked in at $4.8425/bushel, a substantial fall from the previous week’s $5.165/bushel. September 2014 corn was $4.81/bushel, also down from the prior week’s $5.1325/bushel, and corn for December 2014 fell to $4.805/bushel from the previous week’s $5.115/bushel.
The July 2014 soybean price rose to $14.7025/bushel from $14.695/bushel a week earlier, while soybeans for October 2014 fell to $14.0175/bushel from the prior week’s $14.0725/bushel. Soybeans for November 2014 were posted at $12.1775/bushel, down from $12.24/bushel a week earlier.
Wheat for July 2014 was $6.7825/bushel, down from the previous week’s $7.3525/bushel, while September 2014 wheat fell to $6.87/bushel from the prior week’s $7.4375/bushel. Contracts for July 2015 wheat were listed at $7.2225/bushel, well below the $7.5825/bushel reported one week earlier.
Elevated river flows persisted in the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, causing problems in the Midwest.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was in tight supply in the Eastern Cornbelt. Sources quoted the dealer market at $295-$310/st FOB, up $5-$10/st from last report, with the low reported in Illinois and Indiana and the upper end in the Ohio market.
Ammonium thiosulfate was reported in the $345-$350/st FOB range in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was unchanged at $275-$285/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt. Ammonium thiosulfate remained at $320-$345/st FOB in the region.
Northern Plains: The granular ammonium sulfate market was pegged in the $290-$300/st FOB range in the Northern Plains region, with delivered tons roughly $10/st higher, but with limited availability.
Ammonium thiosulfate was quoted at $345-$380/st FOB, depending on location.
Great Lakes: The granular ammonium sulfate market was reported at $295-$310/st FOB in the Great Lakes region, depending on location.
Ammonium thiosulfate was quoted at $345-$360/st FOB in the region, with the Webberville market pegged at the $350/st FOB mark.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $285-$295/st FOB and $290-$300/st DEL in the Northeast.
U.S. Gulf: New business was called $350-$355/st FOB, with some players maintaining that $345/st FOB is available.
The Tampa market continued to be called $400-$410/st FOB with good movement.
Western Cornbelt: The ammonium nitrate market was steady at $395-$415/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in Iowa and the upper end in Missouri.
Toronto — Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund said May 12 that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Montreal East business to Suncor Energy Products Inc. for approximately C$120 million. The business, which for a number of years provided services to other refineries in the Montreal area, now provides sulfur removal and compliance services only to Suncor’s Montreal refinery. Chemtrade acquired the operation in 2011 as part of its acquisition of Marsulex, and will realize a gain of approximately $24 million on the sale. Chemtrade will also recognize the remaining amounts receivable (approximately $11 million) pursuant to an agreement with a previous customer of this facility. Chemtrade will continue to market sulfur and sodium bisulphite produced by the Montreal plant, and will use the net proceeds of the sale to reduce debt. The sale, which is subject to normal closing conditions, including compliance with the Competition Act, is expected to close in June. “It was the right time for us to sell the operation to Suncor, as owner of the sole refinery being served by our Montreal facility,” said Mark Davis, Chemtrade president and CEO. “The sale price represents essentially the same multiple we paid as part of the Marsulex transaction almost three years ago. Additionally, using the net proceeds to reduce debt improves our debt to EBITDA ratio following the recent acquisition of General Chemical, and the on-going marketing agreements will continue to generate revenue for Chemtrade. “Operationally, the Montreal facility is in excellent shape and Suncor is gaining a skilled team that has provided outstanding service for many years. We thank them for their dedication and commitment to operational excellence.”
Disclaimer of Warranty
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.
