Seaway floats high on grain shipments

Seaway floats high on grain shipments    A shortage of Russian grain due to a devastating drought and wild fires in that country has generated a substantial uptake in North American grain exports via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
   According to Marine Delivers, a bi-national industry coalition administered by the American Great Lakes Ports Association in the United States and Canada's Chamber of Marine Commerce, grain shipments through the seaway increased 51 percent to 830,000 metric tons in August compared to the same period last year.
   Commercial vessels carried a total of 18.7 million metric tons of cargo through the seaway from March 25 to Aug. 31, a 22 percent increase over 2009. The overall numbers were helped by strong increases in iron ore, coal and steel shipments, the coalition said.
   The United States is the world's top exporter of wheat. Media reports indicate U.S. wheat exports could reach their highest level since 1996.
   'We are located about as far away from our export customers as any farmers in the United States. But, with the seaway and the Port of Duluth-Superior, we have a direct water link to markets around the world (in particular Europe and North Africa), which keeps transportation costs competitive and enables North Dakota and Minnesota farmers to compete globally,' said David Torgerson, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers. 'The farmers really rely on the seaway to provide that service.'
   Late last week Germany sourced grain from the United States, an export that country has not purchased from U.S. farmers in three years. The bulk load represents 20,000 metric tons of spring wheat.
   'Grain buyers in Turkey and Egypt, likewise, are sourcing spring wheat from Duluth-Superior. Not only are we seeing new customers this year, we're seeing increased purchases from existing customers. We also expect to export feed barley to countries we haven't shipped to for 15-20 years,' said Ron Johnson, trade development director at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.
   Canadian Lakers, which have been the backbone for bi-national movement between the U.S. and Canada, play an integral role in that process.
   'From a Canadian carrier's prospective, there is no doubt that U.S. wheat bookings are on the upswing,' said Allister Paterson, president and chief executive officer for Seaway Marine Transport (SMT), based in St. Catharines, Ontario. 'Before the Russians announced their ban on grain exports, SMT had planned to lay up ships in August and September. With that announcement, we were able to book enough U.S. wheat cargoes to keep all of our ships sailing.'
   Montreal-based Fednav Ltd., the largest international marine bulk shipping company in Canada, has also noted an increase in its bookings due to the international demand for grain. 'We have noticed a substantial increase in inquiries for cargoes originating from the Great Lakes to Europe and North Africa, partly due to a bumper crop in the prairies and to crop failures in other parts of the world,' added Jean Lemay, Fednav's senior vice president of chartering. ' Chris Gillis