Host Newsroom

January 18, 2019

Maryland's Most Active Foreign Trade Zone to Expand into Howard and Queen Anne's Counties
“The Foreign Trade Zone program assists companies doing business globally by deferring certain taxes until their products are ready for the U.S. markets, therefore improving their cash-flow,” said William H. Cole, president and CEO of the BDC, in a statement. Read more.

United States Considers Hitting Venezuela with Oil Embargo
The White House National Security Council has told some US refiners that sanctions on Venezuelan crude exports are under consideration, S&P Global Platts reported, citing sources familiar with the issue. The effort would likely focus on the roughly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude that Venezuela exports to the United States, according to Joe McMonigle, an analyst with Hedgeye Risk Management. Read more.

EU Countries Clear Steel Import Curb Until July 2021
European Union countries have backed a scheme to limit imports of steel into the bloc following U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium entering the United States, the European Commission said on Wednesday. Read more.

Grain Shipments Spike on St. Lawrence Seaway
The water-based highway that runs past Cornwall appears busier than ever to start the shipping season. Grain shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway are up seven 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. Read more.

January 17, 2019

Iron Ore Prices Lift Across the Board
Iron ore spot markets rose across the board on Wednesday, led once again by gains in mid and lower grades. According to Metal Bulletin, the price for benchmark 62% fines rose 0.7% to $74.31 a tonne, leaving it just shy of a two-month high. Read more.

Liner Companies Have Less Appetite for Mega-Ships
Fewer orders for ultra-large container ships make Drewry project "a much brighter" development between supply and demand in the container market. But there are still too many ships, and a trade conflict put a damper on growth. Read more.

Freight Rates in January Come Off by 2%
Freight rates are a good indicator of broad-based demand. An increase in freight rates can be considered as a good proxy for broad-based growth in economic activity in times of stable inter-modal mix given limited barriers to adding supply. Read more.

Epic Pipeline on Schedule to Move Permian Crude in Third Quarter
San Antonio pipeline company Epic Midstream Holdings remains on schedule to begin moving crude oil from West Texas' Permian Basin to the Port of Corpus Christi by this fall. As part of a plan originally announced in October, the company plans to temporarily use its natural gas liquids pipeline to temporarily ship crude oil starting in the third quarter. Read more.

Over 25 Oil Tankers Fail to Deliver Oil Products to Syria Due to Sanctions - Oil Minister
A total of 26 oil tankers failed to get to Syrian ports due to economic sanctions targeting Damascus, exacerbating the deficit of oil products in the Arab country amid an ongoing gas crisis, Syrian Oil and Petroleum Minister Ali Ghanem said on Wednesday. Read more.

January 16, 2019

Mining Powerhouse Vale Launches Artificial Intelligence Center
South American firm Vale, one of the world's largest mining companies, has opened an artificial intelligence (AI) center at its Tubarao site in Vitoria, Brazil. In an announcement Tuesday, the business said that the center was aiming to "leverage the adoption of innovative and disruptive technologies in all areas of the business." Read more.

Spot Truckload Freight Rates Climb as 2019 Gets Underway
The number of spot truckload freight posts jumped 18% during the week ending January 5, 2019, outpacing the 11% gain in the number of truck posts, said DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. Read more.

Why Did US Steel's Stock Price Decline by 50% in 2018, In Spite of Tariffs on Steel Imports?
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the US and Central Europe, saw a significant decline in its stock price in 2018. Ever since the tariffs on steel imports were officially implemented on June 1, 2018, the company’s stock has fallen from about $37 to $18 at the end of December 2018. Read more.

Baltic Dry Index Falls to 1055, Down 41 Points
Today, Wednesday, January 16, 2019, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 41 points, reaching 1055 points. Read more.

January 15, 2019

Most Valuable Agricultural Export? Corn Takes a Run at Soybeans
Corn was one of the fastest-growing top U.S. exports in 2018. That's impressive given that 2018 will prove to have been a record-breaking year rich with fast-growing exports. Read more.

Lower Grade Iron Ore Prices are Soaring
Iron ore spot markets rose for a second session on Monday, helped by further gains in Chinese steel prices. According to Metal Bulletin, the price for benchmark 62% fines rose 0.5% to $73.80 a tonne, pushing back towards the multi-week high of $74.46 a tonne struck on January 8. Read more.

The Value of Second-Hand Tankers Dropped in Tough 2018
OPEC's output cap and weak markets made ship asset values for second-hand tankers decline in 2018. For container and dry bulk ships, the year developed differently, according to numbers from Maersk Broker. Read more.

SC, Federal Politicians Get Behind Charleston Ports Agency’s Barge Idea
The State Ports Authority last week took its plan to use barges to haul cargo containers at Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant to state lawmakers, who are asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to grant a permit allowing the project to move forward. It was the first of several community meetings the maritime agency plans to hold on the proposal. Read more.

Mobile, Alabama, May Become Export Hub
Alabama officials are optimistic that the Port of Mobile soon will be another arrow in the state's quiver of economic benefits to attract automotive companies. Alabama has become a manufacturing hotbed, with three auto makers—Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz—producing vehicles there with support from hundreds of suppliers that have opened around the assembly plants since the late 1990s. Read more.

January 14, 2019

Self-Learning Computer Predicts Vessel Arrival
Computers recognise patterns in large data volumes much faster than people. Significant efficiency steps can also be taken in the maritime sector regarding big data and artificial intelligence. For instance, this technology is enabling the arrival times of vessels in sea and inland ports to be predicted earlier and with increased precision. Read more.

USGC-USAC Gasoline Arbitrage Off to Best Start in Years
“USGC refiners are processing too much, which is keeping differentials in the region under pressure the arbitrage positive. Thus [there are] the continued Line 1 allocations,” said a gasoline broker active along the USGC and USAC. Read more.

Iron Ore Prices Move Higher as Steel Markets Strengthen
Iron ore spot prices rose on Friday, helped by strength in Chinese steel markets. According to Metal Bulletin, the price for benchmark 62% fines increased by 0.1% to $73.45 a tonne, partially reversing declines seen in the prior two sessions. Read more.

FTZ at Port Everglades Makes Approvals Fast and Easy
“Our FTZ is unique because we act as a liaison between the users and CBP, eliminating barriers of entry for new FTZ users,” said Jorge Hernández, Port Everglades Director of Business Administration. "The Alternative Site Framework bolsters Broward County's plans to maintain an adequate supply of available FTZ-designated space for potential new growth." Read more.

Ship Owners with Larger Vessels Prefer to Install Scrubbers Ahead of IMO 2020 Rules
Moving forward, DNV GL expects demand for seaborne transportation to grow by 37% by 2050, which translates to a larger number of ships needed. Read more.

Why the US Imports LNG Despite Its Gas Exports Boom
More than a decade in and the US shale boom keeps breaking output records, with fields from Pennsylvania to Texas producing more natural gas than the country needs. That has triggered billions of dollars of investments to ship liquefied natural gas overseas. Read more.

January 11, 2019

Between Mont Belvieu and the Deep Blue Sea, Part 2 - More U.S. LPG Export Capacity on the Way?
NGL production rising steadily, 2019 is looking to be another banner year for LPG shipments to overseas buyers. The increasing volume of propane and normal butane — the NGL purity products generally referenced as LPG — is filling up the existing export capacity of the Gulf Coast’s six LPG terminals and spurring the development of a number of expansion projects. Read more.

Turn the Pipe Around - Will Crude Soon Be Flowing South on Capline?
The three owners of Louisiana-to-Illinois pipeline announced last week that this month they plan to initiate a binding open season for a reversed Capline system that would enable southbound flows starting in the third quarter of 2020 — only a year and a half from now. Read more.

PSEG Sells 2 Retired Coal Sites to Hilco Redevelopment Partners
PSEG Power, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group, announced on Wednesday the sale its retired Hudson Generating Station, in Jersey City and Secaucus, and Mercer Generating Station, in Hamilton Township, sites to Hilco Redevelopment Partners, an operating company within Hilco Global. Read more.

How U.S. Manufacturers Can Mitigate the Impact of Steel & Aluminum Tariffs
On the basis of protecting U.S. national security, the U.S. imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent and d10 percent on steel and aluminum imports for almost all countries under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Read more.

Germany's Biggest State Wants at Least $11.5 Billion for Exiting Coal
North Rhine-Westphalia, one of Germany’s coal-mining states, is demanding at least 10 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in structural support if coal-fired power stations are phased out, its economy minister said. Read more.

High Water Slows Barge Traffic on U.S. Midwest Rivers
High waters in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers are slowing the movement of grain barges to the U.S. Gulf export hub, grain traders said, adding another headache to a sector struggling with rising soy stockpiles and slowed exports due to a trade row with China. Read more.

January 10, 2019

Chinese Government Warns of Excess Alumina Capacity
Chinese authorities raised concerns about potential excess capacity across the alumina industry at the end of 2018, citing numerous projects in the pipeline. Factors, including the Rusal sanctions, the partial closure of Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina plant in Brazil, output addition at aluminium plants in North America and Europe, the strike at Alcoa’s Western Australia operations, pushed up alumina prices in 2018. This prompted many domestic firms to plan new alumina projects. Read more.

Former Avondale Shipyard Stirs to Life with First Sign of Commerce in Five Years
Avondale Marine, which bought the idle Avondale Shipyard property last fall, has yet to open for cargo operations. But already it’s in business. Read more.

U.S. Oil Prices Up an 8th Session to Score Highest Finish Since Mid-December
Oil futures rallied Wednesday, with the U.S. benchmark up an eighth session in a row to finish at its highest in nearly four weeks, on continued optimism over U.S.-China trade talks, a December output drop from major producers, and a weekly decline in domestic inventories. Read more.

Weekly Market Update: New Year Starts with Strong Volume
The Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI.USA), which normally troughs for about a week after a holiday period, has been clawing its way out ahead of schedule and hit 9,808 yesterday – it averaged 9,580 from December 1st to the 24th, 2.3 percent lower than its present value. Read more.

Goldman Warns Iron Ore's Jump Into the $70s ‘Is Not Sustainable’
While industry fundamentals have improved, current prices won’t last as more supply is on the way, Goldman analysts including Hui Shan said in a note received on Wednesday. The bank expects a decline to $60 in six months. Read more.

Dry Weather Casts Doubt Over Brazil Soybean Export Potential: ANEC
Recent dry weather conditions in several soybean planting areas in Brazil may cut volumes available for export in 2019, national grains exporters association ANEC said Wednesday. "We already know the trend for the crop is lower than last season. Our export estimates can be revised down due to weather issues," ANEC general manager Sergio Mendes said in an emailed statement. Read more.

January 9, 2019

High Ocean Freight Rates in December Foreshadow Expensive 2019
Although spot rates dropped in December 2018 compared to November, the figures remain far above what has been previously considered normal. If December in any way reflects one of the lowest price points for freight in the shipping cycle, as it has in previous years, the high rates this year bode poorly for shippers' budgets. Read more.

For JAXPORT, LNG Spells Success
Port Canaveral has spent the time preparing for the largest LNG powered cruise ship in the world to homeport at a newly constructed terminal. The ship from Carnival Cruise Line, named Mardi Gras after the first Carnival cruise liner, is due in 2020. Read more.

Fast-Growing Cargo Airport Getting Amazon Boost
The story of four of the five fastest-growing top 50 U.S. "ports" in 2018 can be told with just one word: Oil. The fifth would take a few more words. But one necessary word is "Amazon." Read more.

Port of Baltimore Receives $2.4 Million from EPA to Help Promote Clean Air
“Our administration is committed to growing Maryland’s economy while protecting our environment,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “This federal funding will support growth at one of our state’s top economic engines, while significantly reducing emissions and building on the clean air progress that we have made.” Read more.

Former Avondale Shipyard Stirs to Life with First Sign of Commerce in Five Years
Avondale Marine, which bought the idle Avondale Shipyard property last fall, has yet to open for cargo operations. But already it’s in business. Read more.

January 8, 2019

Port of Virginia Installs Four Cranes to Handle Cargo Growth
Once operational, these 170-foot-tall cranes will be the largest on the U.S. East Coast and will be able to service the ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) calling at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) for decades to come, the Norfolk, Va.-based port said. Read more.

Outlook 2019: Growing LNG Marketplace to Drive Spot Shipping Rates in 2019
The global LNG shipping spot market is expected to remain strong in 2019 on the back of higher spot LNG demand and trading volume growth outpacing LNG vessel supply, according to analysts and ship brokers. Read more.

Increased Truck Driver Pay Lowers Turnover Rates in 2018
American Trucking Associations released its quarterly turnover rate numbers for the trucking industry, showing a decline of 11 percentage points in the third quarter for large truckload carriers. Read more.

January 7, 2019

How an Oil Boom in West Texas is Reshaping the World
This year the region is expected to generate an average of 3.9 million barrels per day, roughly a third of total U.S. oil production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s enough to make the U.S., as of late 2018, the world’s largest producer of crude. The windfall has turned a nation long reliant on foreign oil into a net exporter in a few short years. Read more.

U.S. Steel Production Rose to Highest Level Since 2007
U.S. steelmakers made more than 95 million tons of steel in 2018, the most since 2007. The United States produced 98.1 million tons of steel in 2007 but has only manufactured an average of 81.9 million tons a year since then, according to the World Steel Association. Read more.

Petroleum Coke Market Value Expected to Grow $29,648 Million by 2023
A new report published "Petroleum coke Market by Type and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023," by Allied Market Research. The petroleum coke market was valued at $16,680 million in 2016, and is projected to reach $29,648 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2017 to 2023. Asia-Pacific is one of the prominent consumers of petroleum coke, accounting for more than half of the total market in 2016. Read more.

Logistics’ Big Three for 2019: E-Commerce, Freight Rates and Sustainability
The e-commerce juggernaut, trade tensions, rising costs and the push for more sustainable modes of transportation is expected to drive the logistics sector in 2019. E-Commerce The substantial growth of shipping volumes is directly linked to the rapid rise of e-commerce. Read more.

January 4, 2019

EIA: U.S. LNG Export Capacity to More Than Double by the End of 2019
EIA projects that U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity will reach 8.9 Bcfd by the end of 2019, making it the third-largest in the world behind Australia and Qatar. Currently, U.S. LNG export capacity stands at 3.6 Bcfd, and it is expected to end the year at 4.9 Bcfd as two new liquefaction units (called trains) become operational. Read more.

Bluewater Report: The Gateway to America’s Heartland
The Mississippi River is playing an increasingly important role in global commerce as volumes shipped on the waterway continue to rise, while plans to deploy container vessels on the river and dredge the lower portion to 50 feet, will help to further maximize its potential in the coming years. In 2017, 552 million tons moved on the Mississippi River, up from 526 million tons in 2016 and 521 million tons in 2015. Read more.

Advancing Digitization in Shipping
CMA CGM Group and global online freight marketplace company Freightos have established an ambitious pilot agreement whereby CMA CGM has become the first ocean carrier listed on Freightos. Online bookings, guaranteed pricing, and secured capacity on CMA CGM China-US trade lanes are available on the platform, with further extension to additional lanes planned in the near future. Read more.

Leaner and Greener Shipping to Attract Investment
Shipping will continue to attract investors in 2019, as long as the industry fulfils its environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities, according to accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Read more.

$92M Contract Awarded to Expand Corpus Christi Ship Channel
An Illinois company has won a $92 million contract to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel to accommodate larger oil tankers. The Port of Corpus Christi on Thursday announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company. The federal government and the Port of Corpus Christi are funding the overall $360 million ship channel project. Read more.

January 3, 2019

A New Chapter for Mingo Junction? JSW Steel Restarts Steel Mill Along Ohio River
A steel furnace about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh that has been sitting idle for nearly a decade has fired up its furnaces once again. The U.S. arm of JSW Steel Limited, an Indian steel company, announced this week it had restarted an electric arc furnace, which melts scrap steel. Read more.

Sabic Signs Agreement to Develop Methanol Facility in Louisiana
The Louisiana-based company, which is majority owned by New Zealand’s Todd Corporation, will evaluate the potential for establishing a methanol plant with capacity of more a 1.8 million metric tonnes annually with Sabic. Read more.

Baton Rouge Industry Will Benefit If Deeper Mississippi River Channel Happens
If an Army Corps of Engineers plan to deepen the Mississippi River channel to Baton Rouge moves forward, as appears likely, a variety of industries along the river will undoubtedly benefit. The goal of the $237.7 million project is to increase channel depths to 50 feet, up from 45 feet, enabling owners to load existing ships to capacity—instead of periodically “short loading” them—while also allowing larger vessels to traverse the waterway. Read more.

Port of Fernandina Pursuing Barge Service Between City and Savannah, Georgia
The business forecast Ms. DiBella submitted to the Florida Ports Council, as required annually by state statute, increases dry bulk tonnage to 200,000 tons from 12,000 tons, liquid tonnage to 125,000 tons from zero tons (4,000,000 tons were initially forecasted), and break bulk cargo to 900,000 tons from 205,000 tons, according to documentation presented at the city meeting. Read more.

US Fossil Fuel Exports Spur Growth, Climate Worries
The boom in fossil-fuel production in the United States has been matched by a rush on the other side of the Pacific to build the infrastructure needed to respond to the seemingly unquenchable thirst for energy among Asia’s top economies. When Congress lifted restrictions on shipping crude oil overseas in 2015, soon after the Obama administration opened the doors for international sales of natural gas, even the most boosterish of Texas oil men wouldn’t have predicted the U.S. could become one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel exporters so quickly. Read more.

January 2, 2019

‘Canapux’ May Be Next to Ease B.C.’S Heavy Oil Shipping Pressure
CN Rail has hired a Calgary engineering firm to take the next step in its pilot project to increase the safety of crude oil shipped by rail. The “Canapux” project is moving to a high-volume test phase this year with a pilot plant in Calgary, CN said in a statement from its Montreal headquarters. Read more.

A Decade of Success for the Richmond Barge Service
A decade ago, ideas, opportunity and timing converged to make a weekly container-on-barge service that connects The Port of Virginia’s cargo terminals in the Norfolk Harbor to the marine terminal in Richmond a reality. Read more.

Winds of Change
According to the American Waterways Operators (AWO), an association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industries, the sector is the largest component of the domestic maritime industry, providing half a million jobs, generating $100 billion in annual economic output, and employing more than 33,000 American mariners. Read more.

Ørsted Selected for Connecticut Offshore Wind Farm
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has selected Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project to move forward to negotiate a fixed-price power purchase agreement for 0.42TWh (terawatt hours) per year - equivalent to 100MW offshore wind capacity. Read more.

Is China Buying US Soy? Washington Shutdown Keeps Traders Guessing
Commodity traders are in the dark because of the partial US government shutdown, unable to see daily and weekly reports of agricultural exports to obtain clues as to whether China is following through with promises to buy grain and soy amid the ongoing trade war. Read more.

December 31, 2018

Rolling on the Ohio with New Facility
Southern FS will ring in the New Year with expected building permits for a new fertilizer handling facility on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky. Plans call for replacing the current building at the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority’s Bulk Terminal with a new one featuring updated handling technology, more capacity and extended customer services, said Southern FS General Manager Alan Kirby. Read more.

Growth Fuels New Orleans Plan to Double Port Capacity
The Port of New Orleans has signed a 50-year lease with Ports America to spend $66.5 million to improve its existing container terminal and perhaps build a new one in the future, doubling the port’s capacity. Read more.

Port of Beaumont Prepares to Build $79 Million General Cargo Dock
The Economic Development Administration recently announced the award of a $5 million grant to the Port of Beaumont for Phase I of the Main Street Terminal 1 dock rebuild. The new, state-of-the-art dock will replace the dilapidated wharf structure that was built in the early 1900s and failed in 2011. Read more.

Philadelphia ILA Contract Grants Six Years of Stability
The agreement comes three-and-a-half months after ILA members on both coasts resoundingly ratified a six-year master agreement to replace the one that expired Sept. 30. Read more.

Three Facts That Baker Hughes, A GE Company Thinks You Should Know
The merger of oil services firm Baker Hughes with General Electric's oil-field equipment and digital-services business has made one of the most complex oil-services firms, touching many more parts of the oil and gas value chain than its peers. Read more.

December 27, 2018

Port of Beaumont Prepares to Build $79 Million General Cargo Dock
The Economic Development Administration recently announced the award of a $5 million grant to the Port of Beaumont for Phase I of the Main Street Terminal 1 dock rebuild. The new, state-of-the-art dock will replace the dilapidated wharf structure that was built in the early 1900s and failed in 2011. Read more.

Everything in Texas is Big—And Getting Bigger
Texas maintains its position as the nation’s #1 exporter—a title the state has held for 16 consecutive years. In 2017, Texas exported $264 billion in goods to destinations all over the world with Mexico, Canada, China, Brazil and Korea as its top trading partners. Read more.

Global Iron Ore Market Growth Analysis (2018-2023) by Top Leading Players - Vale, Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue Metals, Anmining
The global Iron Ore industry is very competitive. The key points affecting competition are price, quality and range of products offered, reliability, operating costs and shipping costs. Read more.

Daily US LNG Production Hits Record High Of 5.28 Bcf in Christmas Week
Feedgas to the three currently operational LNG projects in the US topped 5.00 Bcf for the first time on December 22, and subsequently climbed to 5.28 Bcf on the day before Christmas. Read more.

Saudi Oil Policy Holds Firm After Government Shake-Up The shake-up saw Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz appoint former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as the new foreign minister and change key national security positions but leave the oil ministry untouched, state media reported Thursday. Read more.

December 26, 2018

Moda Midstream Loads First Supertanker at Port of Corpus Christi Facility
A Greek-flagged crude oil tanker named the Nasiriyah arrived at Moda's facility on Wednesday. Moda confirmed that the VLCC-sized tanker was being loaded on Thursday with 1.2 million barrels of crude oil from the Permian Basin of West Texas. Read more.

Ball Still Moving Forward on Cairo Port
Fowler talked to The Southern Thursday as he made his way to Cairo and said that in the last month there has been a successful meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — a group that plays a vital role in river traffic on the Mississippi and Ohio waterways. This was crucial to getting off on the right foot for permitting and moving the project forward. Read more.

DOT Issues $1.5 Billion in BUILD Grants
Port projects were among the 91 to share $1.5 billion in BUILD grants announced by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Read more.

US Falls Back on Barging Basics
The US is casting around for a transport solution for its growing heavy vehicle and population density, particularly on the East Coast, with federal and local authorities turning to revitalising short sea routes. Read more.

Year in Review: Avondale Shipyard future leads Jefferson Parish News
One of the biggest developments in Jefferson Parish in 2018 was a joint venture that closed on the purchase of the former Avondale Shipyard site and announced a project that could bring thousands of jobs back to the parish. Read more.

December 21, 2018

This Morning in Metals: Iron Ore Prices Surge
Prices for mid- and high-grade iron ores surged Thursday, Business Insider Australia reported. Benchmark 62% fines jumped 4.5% and higher-grade ore was up 1.9%, according to the report. Read more.

Aluminum Tariffs Will Create Jobs and Economic Investment Says Group
"In the next few years, we should see thousands of jobs created and billions of dollars in aluminum production, due to the Section 232 tariffs," says Robert Scott of the Economic Policy Institute. Read more.

Shaking Up Bulk Storing Options
In the bulk handling sector, growth in direct loading at ports and increased on-farm storage are both reducing pressure and creating potential new opportunities. Read more.

Port of New Orleans Board Elects New Leadership
Appointed by the governor of Louisiana, the board comprises seven commissioners who are unsalaried and serve five-year staggered terms. Read more.

Crude Oil Futures Jump on Saudi's Pledge to Lower Oil Production
Crude oil futures jumped during mid-morning trade in Asia Friday as OPEC's kingpin Saudi Arabia pledge to lower its crude output to 10.311 million b/d, down 322,000 b/d from its October level. Meanwhile, market participants also attributed higher crude futures to bargain-hunting and firmer market sentiment ahead of the OPEC production cuts which will take effect January 2019. Read more.

December 20, 2018

Federal Grant Puts Port on Track for Trainload Shipments; Loans Needed to Take Port to Next Level
It was announced last week the regional port authority would receive a $19.8 million grant to help fund a $33 million project to construct two loop tracks and a terminal at the Mississippi River port. Read more.

Exelon's Annova LNG Export Plant Passes First FERC Environmental Test
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues a draft environmental impact statement for Exelon's (NYSE:EXC) proposed $3B Annova liquefied natural gas export terminal in Brownsville, Tex., bringing the project closer to receiving federal approval for construction. Read more.

Coal is Australia’s Most Valuable Export in 2018
Coal will replace iron ore as Australia’s most valuable export this financial year as supply concerns lead to a steep price rise for the core commodity. Read more.

Colombian Biofuels Production Hit by Cheaper US Imports
Colombian ethanol production totaled 341.87 million liters from January to October, up 10.5% from 309.44 million liters produced over the same period last year but still significantly below capacity on a flood of cheaper US imports, according to the Colombian Biofuels Federation, the country's largest trade group. Read more.

What Will Drive Atlantic Basin Crude Prices in 2019?
Demand from Asia and fuel oil refining margins will be the key drivers of price strength of the crude grades in the Atlantic Basin next year, just like they have been in the fourth quarter this year, an S&P Global Platts analysis showed on Wednesday. Read more.

December 18, 2018

Coal Demand Will Remain Steady Through 2023, International Energy Agency Says
In its latest annual report, the IEA forecasts global coal demand will remain essentially stable over the next five years, inching up by just over 1 percent between 2017 and 2023. Read more.

China's Tighter Sulfur Limit Rule for Ships to Spur LSMGO, LSFO Demand
In less than a month, China is set to tighten its sulfur limit restrictions for ships by imposing a 0.5% bunker fuel sulfur limit in not only its initially designated Emission Control Areas but also along its entire coastline, a move likely to spur demand for cleaner fuels, industry sources said. Read more.

Baltimore County Council Approves $78M for Tradepoint Atlantic Infrastructure
The deal is a shift from the $150 million tax increment financing request Tradepoint had proposed earlier this year. Under the grant, $34 million would go toward road construction and up to $44 million would pay for water and sewer extensions at the former Sparrows Point steel mill site in Dundalk. Read more.

Crude Oil Futures Continue Downtrend Amid Supply Concerns
Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Tuesday, continuing the downtrend from the overnight slide as investors remained concerned about growing supply amid poor demand. Read more.

President Trump Approves Second Round of Farmer Payments to Ease the Burden of Tariffs
Yesterday, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the Trump Administration had finally approved the second and final round of payments to be made to farmers that were impacted by the retaliatory tariffs placed on US farm goods by China. Read more.