Bitumen / Asphalt
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Global bitumen and asphalt spot prices are influenced by changing supply and demand fundamentals, VGO and crude prices. Argus is the only provider of global bitumen and asphalt spot prices assessed by a global team of reporters, based on market trade. Spot price coverage includes regional truck, rail and seaborne prices.
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Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit
Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit
Houston, 20 March (Argus) — The first towboat arrived at St Paul, Minnesota, today, marking the start of the 2025 navigation season on the upper Mississippi River, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Neil N. Diehl passed through Lock 2 at Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges, crossing into St Paul on 19 March. Tows reaching St Paul signify the unofficial start of the navigation season, as St Paul is the last port to open on the Mississippi River after winter ice thaws each year. This is considered an average start time for the navigation season, which typically opens the third week of March. The first tow to reach St Paul in 2024 arrived on 17 March. The Corps released the final Lake Pepin ice measurements of 17in on 12 March and was unable to take new measurements this week since the ice had melted significantly. Lake Pepin measurements help determine when the ice will be thin enough for barges to transit up river. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
English and Welsh roads hit by lack of spending: Survey
English and Welsh roads hit by lack of spending: Survey
London, 19 March (Argus) — More than half of the local road network in England and Wales has less than 15 years of structural life left because of insufficient allocation of government funding to local authorities, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey. The survey, compiled annually by UK industry body Asphalt Industry Association (AIA), found that 52pc, or around 106,000 miles, of the English and Welsh road network managed by local authorities had just 15 years life remaining, and that nearly a third of these roads — around 34,600 miles — may only have up to five years life left. The survey found that in the next 12 months, 24,400 miles, or 12pc, of the network is likely to need some form of maintenance and that just 1.5pc of the local road network was resurfaced over the last year. Although there has been over £20bn ($26bn) spent on carriageway maintenance in England and Wales over the last decade, "due to the short-term nature of the allocation of funding, it has resulted in no quantifiable uplift to the condition and resilience of the network," AIA Chair David Giles said. He added there needs to be a complete change in mindset away from short-term to longer term funding commitments, and he asked the UK government to set a minimum five-year funding horizon and substantially increase investments for local roads maintenance work. UK bitumen consumption has been steadily falling in recent years, with another 10.5 decline registered in 2024, hitting its lowest levels since 2016, according to UK government's department for energy security and net zero (DESNZ) data. The consumption drop coincided with a 20.3pc jump to 449,000t in UK production of the heavy oil product used mainly in road paving as well as general construction, combining to sharply reduce the country's bitumen import requirements. The ALARM survey also found that there had been no improvements in as much as 94pc of the England and Wales local network over the last year. To maintain their network, the survey showed that in England and Wales, local authorities would have needed an extra £7.4m each in 2024 and £16.81bn in total, as a one-off cash injection, to bring their networks up to their "ideal" conditions. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Danish firm to set up Kalundborg bitumen terminal
Danish firm to set up Kalundborg bitumen terminal
London, 19 March (Argus) — Danish firm Bitumen Danmark will build a new bitumen terminal at Kalundborg, Denmark, with an initial capacity of 10,000-15,000t. The storage facility is scheduled for completion by late 2026 when it could start receiving winter-fill cargoes during the 2026/27 winter ahead of supply into local truck markets when the next paving and general construction season starts in spring 2027. The secured terminal, which could be expanded at a later point, will have deep water access that will enable the firm to take delivery of cargoes carried in bitumen tankers from a wide variety of locations across the Nordics, northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. In 2024, Denmark received around 123,000t of bitumen in cargo shipments, according to Vortexa, with the majority of the tankers delivering into Danish terminals at Aarhus, Nyborg and Koge. Sweden was the biggest single source last year, supplying just over half the total, with just over a third from the Netherlands. Bitumen Danmark supplies bitumen products into the road asphalt and roofing felt sectors in the Nordic region. It is majority owned by German firm BVH Group, a leading bitumen buyer and asphalt products supplier in Germany and parts of central Europe. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vitol's Malaysian storage to take third bitumen cargo
Vitol's Malaysian storage to take third bitumen cargo
Mumbai, 19 March (Argus) — Global energy trading firm Vitol will take a third bitumen shipment from Singapore for its recently built 50,000-70,000t storage facility in Malaysia's Tanjung Bin, vessel tracking data showed. The cargo aboard the 5,869 deadweight tonne (dwt) Erica 10 vessel was loaded from Singapore Refining's terminal in Jurong, Singapore over 16-17 March and is scheduled to discharge in Tanjung Bin over 20-21 March, Kpler and Vortexa data showed. The same vessel carried the firm's second cargo the previous week, while the first shipment was loaded aboard the 4,020dwt Sidra Qatar vessel at the end of January from ExxonMobil's terminal in Singapore and was discharged into Tanjung Bin in early February, the data showed. The trading firm is likely importing cargoes into its storage facility to stock up, but it cannot be determined if it would start exporting from Tanjung Bin in the near term. By Sathya Narayanan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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