Cwb News

2/19 - MSR NO.

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.

G3 Global Holdings said on Tuesday that it would study the feasibility of building a grain terminal at Port Metro Vancouver. Winnipeg-based G3, which agreed in April to buy a controlling stake in grain handler CWB, said it would consider building the terminal at Lynnterm West Gate, on the North Shore of Canada's busiest port. Western Stevedoring, which holds the lease for the site, is a partner in the study. G3 is a limited partnership between U.S.-based oilseed processor Bunge Ltd and Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co (SALIC). "The planned combination of CWB and Bunge's Canadian grain assets will provide a highly competitive eastern footprint," said G3 Chief Executive Karl Gerrand in a statement. It would be the first new grain terminal at the port since 1968.

The U.S. and Canadian Seaway Corporations marked the opening of the Seaway's 57th navigation season today, with the transit of the newly-built CWB Marquis through the St. Lambert Lock. The vessel is the first of two Equinox-class lakers ordered by Winnipeg-based grain marketer CWB that are being purpose-built for trade in the Great Lakes Seaway System. In 2014, over 12 million tons of grain moved through the Seaway, the highest volume recorded since the beginning of the 21st century. Ian White, President and CEO of CWB, served as the keynote speaker at the opening.

Algoma Central Corporation (“Algoma”), the largest Canadian shipowner and operator of domestic Great Lakes vessels announces that it has received all requisite approvals of its exhaust gas scrubbing systems installed on its Equinox Class of vessels. The scrubber units, manufactured by Wärtsilä are designed to remove 97% of sulphur oxide emissions generated by vessel engines. The scrubber concept works with fresh water recirculating in a closed-loop system. Sulphur oxides are washed out of the exhaust then neutralized. Contaminants are disposed of at reception facilities in port. All vessel emissions meet exacting IMO, US EPA and Canadian regulatory standards.

Canadian grain marketer CWB said on Thursday it will build a third grain elevator on the western Prairies, as the former Wheat Board pieces together a crop-handling network. Winnipeg-based CWB will build an elevator that can store 42,000 tonnes of grain near Pasqua, Saskatchewan. It expects the elevator, adjacent to a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd line with the ability to load 134 rail cars, to open in January 2016. The elevator is the latest project to expand Western Canada's grain-handling capacity, including country elevators and port terminals, as Canadian farmers increase production. Richardson International Ltd, Cargill Ltd and Viterra have also announced building projects. Viterra said last week that it would build a grain terminal at Ste.

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.

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.