Canadian Wheat Board News

Canadian grain shipments through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway trade corridor are up 20% in response to continuing world demand for wheat and canola, the latest figures show.Year-to-date shipments of grain (from April 1 to August 31) totaled 5.2 million tonnes, as ships transported Prairie wheat and canola and Ontario wheat and soybeans for both domestic use and for export to markets around the world.The rush of grain, which is carry over from last year’s crops, has helped to offset continuing pandemic-related declines in other key cargoes such as iron ore (down 23%)…

Grain shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway are up 7 per cent this season, continuing the pace set last year when ships carried the largest volume of grain through the navigation system in 14 years. According to The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, grain shipments (including Canadian and U.S. grain) totaled 1.9 million metric tons from April 2 to May 31. The Port of Thunder Bay, the largest grain port on the Great Lakes, reported that its grain shipments were off to the strongest start this season since 1997, as the major handlers continue to export the harvest from 2014. So far this season, Algoma Central Corporation’s ships have carried 50 per cent more grain, mainly from Thunder Bay to Quebec for transshipment overseas.

Canadian grain marketer CWB said on Monday it has agreed to buy Great Sandhills Terminal Ltd, a farmer-owned 20,000-tonne grain handling facility in Leader, Saskatchewan, for $16.3 million. The deal, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, is expected to close by Sept. 1. It also includes a majority stake in a short-line railway in Saskatchewan. CWB did not release further financial details. CWB, which was previously known as the Canadian Wheat Board, has made several deals to piece together a grain-handling network in the past year as it moves toward operating outside of government control. Ottawa stripped the board of its western wheat and barley marketing monopoly in 2012 and agreed to guarantee CWB's borrowings until it is sold or develops a plan to be self-sustaining by 2016.

Three Canadian grain handlers said this week that they will expand facilities to handle the country's crops, after a record-smashing harvest overwhelmed the transportation system. Viterra, owned by Glencore Xstrata PLC, said on Thursday it will spend C$100 million ($92 million) to boost grain shipping through Port Metro Vancouver, while CWB, formerly known as the Canadian Wheat Board, said it is building a second Western Canadian grain elevator. Global commodities trader Cargill Ltd said on Wednesday that it would expand an elevator site in Manitoba. The moves come as the country's grain handlers and railways have struggled to move a record harvest to port, causing a massive backlog.

Algoma Central Corporation's 'Algoma Equinox', the first in a series of eight Equinox-class ships, has set sail from the Nantong Mingde Heavy Industries shipyard in Nantong, China bound for Canada. The series consists of four gearless bulk carriers and four self-unloading bulk carriers. Algoma will own six of the series, consisting of two gearless bulkers and four self-unloading vessels. CWB Inc., formerly the Canadian Wheat Board, will own the other two gearless bulkers, which will be operated and managed by Algoma.

Deltamarin has signed an agreement with Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry about the design of totally seven new Equinox Class Self Unloading and Gearless Bulk Carriers to be built for Algoma Central Corporation and the Canadian Wheat Board. Deltamarin will take care of the Basic and Detail design of the vessels as well as Procurement support. The vessels are derivatives of Deltamarin’s B.delta standard bulker designs, which have piqued the interest of the market with their improved cubic capacity and lower fuel consumption compared to competing designs.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) predicted that cargo shipments would rise by about seven per cent to 39.1 million tonnes for 2011 as it marked the official opening of its 53rd navigation season on March 22 at the St. Lambert Lock. “Transportation of raw materials serves as a bellwether for the economy as a whole, and despite volatile global economic conditions, we have reason to be cautiously optimistic regarding our various market segments” said SLSMC President and CEO Terence Bowles.

Algoma Central Corporation expects to invest close to $400m in Great Lakes shipping as it takes bold steps for the future, Algoma President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Wight said during his keynote address at the Top Hat ceremony marking the 182nd opening of the Welland Canal. “This level of commitment to this industry is unprecedented,” Mr. Wight said. Algoma’s fleet renewal program is starting with the purchase of five new state-of-the-art Equinox Class vessels, with the hope to expand this order. The new Equinox Class was developed in St. Catharines, Ontario by a team of designers at Algoma’s downtown headquarters in partnership with engineers from around the world. Equinox Class ships are the next generation of bulk carriers on the Great Lakes.

Officials from the northern Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba, are lobbying insurance giant Lloyd's of London to reduce the rates and extend the season for the Hudson Bay shipping terminal, Reuters reported. "There's a clear business case for this," Steve Ashton, Manitoba's government services minister told Reuters on Wednesday. "We felt that giving the current weather patterns and also the technology that's out there, and the general ability to get ships in, that there was a clear argument for the enhancement of the shipping season, said Ashton. Ashton is part of a Canadian delegation in Europe that is meeting with Lloyd's officials, international shipping companies and specialty crop merchants to boost Churchill's profile and long-term viability.

Officials from the northern Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba, last month lobbied insurance giant Lloyd's of London to reduce the rates and extend the season for the Hudson Bay shipping terminal. "There's a clear business case for this," Steve Ashton, Manitoba's government services minister said. "We felt that giving the current weather patterns and also the technology that's out there, and the general ability to get ships in, that there was a clear argument for the enhancement of the shipping season, said Ashton. Ashton is part of a Canadian delegation in Europe that is meeting with Lloyd's officials, international shipping companies and specialty crop merchants to boost Churchill's profile and long-term viability.