Michael Hirtzer News

A rare cargo of U.S. sorghum has arrived in Spain and will be followed by several more, shipping data showed, a sign that Spain's livestock industry is set to become one of the new homes for U.S. sorghum hit by Chinese anti-dumping tariffs.Exporters have been scrambling to divert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. sorghum bound for China after Beijing announced hefty anti-dumping deposits on the grain in mid-April, part of a simmering trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.Sorghum is mainly used in livestock feed and the fiery Chinese liquor baijiu.U.S. officials had already flagged sales of U.S. sorghum to Spain…

U.S. ethanol makers have joined global livestock producers to snap up discounted American sorghum supplies after buyers in China backed out of deals due to stiff anti-dumping tariffs on the grain imposed by Beijing in a mounting trade dispute. Sorghum is used to feed animals and represents a fraction of the billions of dollars of goods that move between the world's two largest economies. The trade conflict between the United States and China has already hit shipments of agricultural produce and threatens to disrupt the flow of everything from steel to electronics. China is the biggest buyer of U.S. sorghum, and the exit of Chinese buyers from the market caused sorghum prices to fall.

A cargo ship collided with a dock on the Parana River in Argentina's grains hub of Rosario on Wednesday, causing a slowdown of activity at terminal 6 in the port of General San Martín and raising soymeal prices."The southern pier of terminal 6 is operational, with difficulties on the barge docks due to the blockage caused by the ship that generated the accident," said Guillermo Wade, manager of Argentina's Chamber of Port and Maritime Activity."The north dock of terminal 6 suffered some serious damage. One operator working in the area suffered a minor blow, but nothing serious," Wade said.Argentina is the world's top exporter of soymeal livestock feed and the third biggest supplier of raw soybeans.The ship…

Several ships carrying cargoes of sorghum from the United States to China have changed course since Beijing slapped hefty anti-dumping deposits on U.S. imports of the grain, trade sources and a Reuters analysis of export and shipping data showed.Sorghum is a niche animal feed and a tiny slice of the billions of dollars in exports at stake in the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies, which threatens to disrupt the flow of everything from steel to electronics.The supply-chain pain felt by sorghum suppliers on the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans underscores how quickly the mounting trade tensions between the U.S.

Importers are buying U.S. corn at the fastest pace since the mid-1990s, according to U.S. government data, as tightening stocks in Latin America prompt a rush to purchase cargoes of the grain from animal feeders worldwide. A deepening drought in Argentina and limited corn supplies in Brazil, two of the three largest exporters, have opened a window of opportunity for top supplier the United States, which has the largest available surplus for export. The shopping spree comes as a rare bit of good news for U.S. shippers and farmers who have seen incomes fall amid years of global oversupply and intensifying competition. The unexpected surge in sales could help draw down record-large U.S. corn supplies.

The Portland Merchant's Exchange reported a total of 16 grain ships at Portland, Oregon. Six ships were loading and 10 were waiting to load.     (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer)

Global shipping is still feeling the effects of a cyber attack that hit A.P. Moller-Maersk two days ago, showing the scale of the damage a computer virus can unleash on the technology dependent and inter-connected industry. About 90 percent of world trade is transported by sea, with ships and ports acting as the arteries of the global economy. Ports increasingly rely on communications systems to keep operations running smoothly, and any IT glitches can create major disruptions for complex logistic supply chains. The cyber attack was among the biggest-ever disruptions to hit global shipping.

Severe winter weather has slowed rail deliveries of crops to shippers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, sending freight rates soaring and prompting Asian buyers to seek fill-in loads as they wait for the backlog at ports to clear. Blizzards, avalanches and heavy rain in recent weeks have hit transport of corn, soy and wheat to ports where they head for the lucrative Asian market, adding to the struggles that have plagued U.S. exporters since harvest. The setbacks come at a critical time for U.S. exporters, who are trying to move as much grain as possible before buyers turn their attention to South America when corn and soybean harvests in Argentina and Brazil accelerate in the coming weeks.

Two cargoes of Argentine wheat were scheduled to arrive at port in Wilmington, North Carolina, shipping data showed on Friday, indicating a rare situation where U.S. buyers actually find it cheaper to purchase imported grain than abundant domestic supplies. Argentina's wheat prices tumbled last month after the country devalued its peso and scrapped export taxes. The South American country also sold large volumes to top global wheat importer Egypt for the first time in years. Chatter circulated that hog producers in the southeastern United States were buying feed-quality Argentine wheat that was priced at a discount both to U.S. corn and U.S. wheat. North Carolina port data showed vessel Nord Capella with an estimated U.S. arrival of Feb. 5 and the vessel due on Feb. 14.

U.S. grain farmers scrambled to find shelter for their crops and handlers hunted for alternative transportation routes, as widespread floods shut waterways from Illinois to Missouri and spurred a surge in physical prices of corn and soybeans. The sudden jump in prices could complicate a months-long stand-off between farmers who are unwilling to sell their bumper crop at low prices and buyers who have refused to budge on their cash offers amid plentiful supplies. It could also further curb export demand, with U.S. traders struggling to compete with their cheaper Latin American rivals. Cash premiums for soybeans in the U.S. barge market…

Rapidly rising floodwaters brought barge traffic to a near standstill on the middle section of the Mississippi River on Monday, halting shipments of goods such as soybeans, concrete and road salt, government officials and traders said. The deadly storms have killed more than 40 people in flooding and tornadoes, snarling air and road traffic during one of the busiest travel times of the year. The rain and snowfall were washing into Midwestern rivers, making it dangerous to operate barges and almost impossible to load them, barge traders said. The Mississippi River at St. Louis was expected to rise to nearly 45 feet (13.7 metres) by Thursday, which would be the second-highest crest after the record of 49.58 feet (15 metres) on Aug. 1, 1993, according to the National Weather Service.

Cargill Inc next week is likely to load 50,000 tonnes of Brazilian corn bound for the United States, shipping data showed on Wednesday, in what is expected to be the first of several bulk vessels of South American grain that will be imported here this year. Hog and poultry producers in the Southeastern United States purchased two vessels of corn from South America for arrival in August and September while at least one other vessel was likely to arrive by March, three U.S. corn export traders said. Cargill was the listed shipper for the Nord Voyager vessel, which was due to load the 50,000 tonnes of corn at the Brazilian port of Santarem, according to Williams Shipping Agency data. A spokesman for Cargill, which has a port terminal in Santarem, declined to comment.

The shipping season on the upper Mississippi River will end on Thursday as ice surrounding locks and dams near Minnesota's Twin Cities forced the earliest winter closure on records that date back to 1969, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. "There's so much ice through the whole system," said Bryan Peterson, navigation manager for the Army Corps' St. Paul district. There were two tow boats waiting to pass lock and dam No. 2 near Hastings, Minnesota. Once they moved down river, no more vessels were expected, Peterson said. The shipping season typically ends around the beginning of December on upper portions of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. In 1989, no more vessels reached the Twin Cities after Nov. 24, Peterson said.

With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system. The pressure is building on an inland waterways network that is just one flood, drought or mechanical breakdown from calamity after decades of neglect, industry sources say. Looming bumper corn and soybean crops are bringing to light issues that have built for years and which have been exacerbated by new entrants to the marketplace for river logistics, such as producers of crude oil from the nation's shale boom. Rail congestion and truck shortages are shifting more cargo to the creaking infrastructure for floating heartland goods to market.

With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system. The pressure is building on an inland waterways network that is just one flood, drought or mechanical breakdown from calamity after decades of neglect, industry sources say. Looming bumper corn and soybean crops are bringing to light issues that have built for years and which have been exacerbated by new entrants to the marketplace for river logistics, such as producers of crude oil from the nation's shale boom. Rail congestion and truck shortages are shifting more cargo to the creaking infrastructure for floating heartland goods to market.

U.S. agribusiness Cargill Inc said it will build a grain handling facility in West Memphis, Arkansas, to purchase corn, sorghum, soybeans and wheat that the company could ship down the Mississippi River to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals. Minneapolis-based Cargill, one of the world's largest private companies, said on Thursday it will invest $45 million in the terminal in West Memphis, located on the western bank of the Mississippi. The river is the main shipping route to the Gulf, where about 60 percent of all U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat exports exit the country. When completed, the elevator will be capable of loading up to eight barges daily and of holding up to five barges, Cargill said in a release that did not provide a timeline for the project.

China has stopped issuing permits for imports of distillers dried grains (DDGs) from top exporter the United States on concerns they might contain an unapproved genetically-modified organism (GMO), traders said, sending U.S. prices tumbling. Quarantine authorities have also asked buyers to re-export earlier shipments that contained MIR 162, a GMO strain developed by Syngenta AG that has not been approved for import by China's agriculture ministry. Qingdao, China's largest port for DDGs, stopped issuing new permits for shipments last month to any buyers who had still not shipped out any cargoes previously denied entry by quarantine authorities. "Now it is countrywide. Quarantine authorities stopped issuing import permits last Friday," said one trading manager with a major buyer.

Deep discounts for Brazilian soybeans are creating an unexpected new market with U.S. processors and animal producers far upstream in the heart of the Midwest farm belt where the beans will be shipped on barges. While light soybean imports by U.S. users along the Gulf and East Coast are not uncommon, it has been nearly two decades since South American supplies were unloaded at the Louisiana Gulf and towed up the Mississippi River to inland processors. The current trend reverses the usual flow of barge traffic and sees ports around New Orleans which usually load ocean-going ships with beans switching to unloading arrivals onto barges.

Mississippi River barge traffic could reopen Friday at the earliest, government officials said on Wednesday, a day after a barge struck a railroad bridge at Sabula, Iowa, forcing the closure of a two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the country's busiest waterway. The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating damage to the railroad bridge owned by Canadian Pacific Railroad Ltd while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was traveling to the site to survey the waters for any debris. "Currently the river is closed to vessel traffic. It will be closed through Friday at least," said Mike Reed, chief of prevention for the Coast Guard's upper Mississippi River sector. A vessel towing 15 barges upriver hit the bridge on Tuesday, damaging a portion of the protective pier.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday closed the Mississippi River at Sabula, Iowa, after a barge struck a railroad bridge, said Eric Washburn, bridge administrator for the agency's Eighth District Western Rivers Bridge Branch. The river was closed 1 mile (1.6 km) north and 1 mile south of the site of the accident as of about 3 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT), Washburn said. The barge was stuck in an open position. The contents of the barge were unknown as investigators traveled to the site, he said. "The investigators will have to inspect the bridge and make a determination if it needs repairs," added Tim Marriott, enforcement chief for the Coast Guard's upper Mississippi River sector. The rail bridge was owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd , said company spokesman Ed Greenberg.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday closed the Mississippi River at Sabula, Iowa, after a barge struck a railroad bridge, said Eric Washburn, bridge administrator for agency's Eighth District Western Rivers Bridge Branch. The river was closed to north and southbound traffic as of about 3 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT), Washburn said, adding that investigators were traveling to the site. The barge was stuck in an open position and the contents of the barge were unknown, he said. The Mississippi River is the busiest U.S. waterway and the main route to ports along the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer)