US ethanol shipments to China pick up
China will receive close to 80,000t of US ethanol in January on top of the 30,000t that has landed this month, even as the Chinese government slows its costly gasoline blending programme.
Two vessels possibly shipping fuel ethanol from the US are scheduled to arrive at unknown ports in China between 20-25 January, according to Vortexa. The Loukas 1 and FPMC 29 are handymax vessels shipping 40,000t and 37,000t of ethanol from Texas' Galveston to China, according to shipping brokers.
Another 30,000t shipment of fuel ethanol has already arrived at a port in China but is waiting to offload because of bad weather, according to market participants. Large-scale Chinese state-owned oil and agribusiness firms are key ethanol buyers and possibly have bought the cargoes, although neither have been confirmed.
Small trading firms offered December-arrival fuel ethanol cargoes to China at $530/t cfr but were unable to supply the 30,000-40,000t that buyers requested. Such large shipments incur a substantial tax bill at the border under the 45pc import tariff imposed on US ethanol as a result of tense US-China relations.
Chinese domestic fuel ethanol prices have risen sharply since April driven by ballooning corn feedstock costs, reaching around 6,300 yuan/t ($965/t) at the end of this month from April's low of around Yn4,700/t, according to market participants. This has pushed open the arbitrage for delivered US volumes.
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Indonesia’s Pertamina gets ISCC certification for SAF
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Canada rail strike ends by forced arbitration: Update
Canada rail strike ends by forced arbitration: Update
Adds comments from railroads, Canadian Propane Association and background. Calgary, 22 August (Argus) — A Canadian rail strike that started early Thursday morning will be short-lived as the federal government stepped in to force the union and two railroads into binding arbitration. The federal government is now directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to "assist the parties in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final binding arbitration," labour minister Steven MacKinnon said Thursday. At 12:01am ET today, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) locked out union members, while the Teamsters Canada Rail conference launched a strike at CPKC . The work stoppage froze ongoing train shipments, even if they have not yet reached their destinations. CN ended its lockout at 6pm ET and initiated its service recovery plan. CN said it is satisfied that the labour action has ended, but it is "disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table despite its best efforts." CPKC said it would restart operations once it receives orders from CIRB. "Our teams are already preparing for the safe and orderly resumption of our rail network and further details about timing will be provided once we receive the CIRB's order," CPKC said. CPKC chief executive Keith Creel said the railroad regrets that the government had to intervene because he believes in and respects collective bargaining, but "given the stakes for all involved this situation required action." Though the work stoppage lasted less than a day, it may take weeks for rail operations to return to normal. The Canadian railroads last week embargoed shipments of toxic materials and earlier this week stopped loading any new railcars. Instead it focused on delivering already-loaded trains to their destination. Shippers across North America feared the impact of the work stoppages. The Canadian Propane Association today said that for each day that propane is not delivered, there is a sales loss of C$9.82mn and that would rise to $75.2mn after seven days. Labour minister MacKinnon has the authority under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to mandate the sides return to the bargaining table, a tool the federal government was reluctant to use until now. By Brett Holmes and Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada rail strike stopped by forced arbitration
Canada rail strike stopped by forced arbitration
Calgary, 22 August (Argus) — A Canadian rail strike that started early Thursday morning will be short-lived as the federal government stepped in to force the union and two railroads into binding arbitration. The federal government is now directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to "assist the parties in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final binding arbitration," labour minister Steven MacKinnon said Thursday. The minister has the authority under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to mandate the sides return to the bargaining table, a tool the federal government was reluctant to use until now. Operations for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) stopped at 12:01am ET Thursday when they could not reach agreements over contract terms with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). Operations will resume at the railroads during arbitration. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
SBO futures up on railroad stoppage, crush figures
SBO futures up on railroad stoppage, crush figures
Houston, 22 August (Argus) — US soybean oil (SBO) futures rose by 2.5pc during the past week, amid a rail strike in Canada and a new crush report showing higher US soybean crush for July but lower soybean oil stocks. The September CBOT soybean oil contract closed at 41¢/lb on 21 August, up from 40.01¢/lb a week earlier. The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA's) July crush report on 15 August showed US soybean crush at 182.9mn bushels, 5.5pc higher from last year and up by 4.2pc from the prior month. But July soybean oil stocks were reported at 1.5bn lbs, down by 7.6pc from the prior year and 1.8pc lower from the prior month, indicating more consumption. Market talk also revolved around a strike involving Canada's two largest railroads Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National. US biofuel producers and the US food industry import soybean oil and canola oil from Canada, mostly the latter since Canada is the largest canola producer in the world. Market participants mentioned some veg oil sellers are suggesting canola oil food customers switch to soybean oil for the short term, even though it could be too early to gauge potential consequences from the strike. By Jamuna Gautam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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