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Baltimore opens third temporary shipping channel

  • : Agriculture, Coal, Freight, Metals
  • 24/04/22

A third temporary shipping channel has opened at the Port of Baltimore to allow more vessel traffic around the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Located on the northeast side of the main channel, the new passage has a controlling depth of 20-ft, a 300-ft horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 135-ft.

When combined with two other temporary channels opened earlier this month the port should be able to handle "... approximately 15 percent of pre-collapse commercial activity," said David O'Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator.

The main shipping channel of the Port of Baltimore — a key conduit for US vehicle imports and coal exports — is expected to be reopened by the end of May, the Maryland Port Administration said earlier this month.

The bridge collapsed into the water late last month when the 116,851dwt container ship Dali lost power and crashed into one of its support columns. Salvage teams have been working ever since to remove debris from the water and containers from the ship in order to clear the main channel.


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Escoamento de soja causa fila de caminhões em Rondônia


25/03/20
25/03/20

Escoamento de soja causa fila de caminhões em Rondônia

Sao Paulo, 20 March (Argus) — O tempo de espera para embarque da safra de soja 2024-25 no porto de Porto Velho, em Rondônia, chegou a seis dias nesta semana, de acordo com a Associação dos Produtores de Soja do estado (Aprosoja-RO). A falta de infraestrutura portuária e de armazenagem nas fazendas, aliada ao pico da colheita da oleaginosa nas últimas semanas, aumentou a fila de caminhões para o escoamento das cargas no porto de Porto Velho. "Tivemos uma fila de até 1.200 caminhões no pátio de triagem de Porto Velho, por onde é escoada toda a produção do estado e da região noroeste de Mato Grosso", disse o diretor administrativo da Aprosoja-RO, Marcelo Lucas. As cargas embarcadas seguem pelo Rio Madeira até o porto de Santarém, no Pará, de onde é exportada. A colheita de soja 2024-25 em Rondônia deve atingir 2,4 milhões de toneladas (t), um aumento de 7pc em relação ao ciclo anterior, de acordo com a Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab). Rondônia não teve dificuldades no escoamento de soja nessa magnitude em anos anteriores, mas, por conta do pico de colheita na safra deste ciclo, há um volume maior a ser transportado em um menor espaço de tempo, segundo a Aprosoja-RO. A Aprosoja-RO também disse que os gargalos logísticos têm causado prejuízos aos produtores, que não conseguem escoar a colheita de suas propriedades. As cargas que conseguem ser embarcadas acabam degradadas por conta das longas tempos de esperas para descarga. Os produtores também estão absorvendo os custos de manter caminhões estacionados em armazéns e portos, elevando os preços do frete de grãos rodoviário a níveis acima do que é tradicionalmente praticado na região, disse a Aprosoja-RO. Na semana encerrada em 13 de março, o frete rodoviário de grãos no corredor Sapezal-Porto Velho atingiu R$235/t, ante R$185/t no mesmo período em 2024. A entidade disse que está trabalhando com o governo do estado para rever a concessão do porto de Porto Velho, permitindo que outras empresas operem. A Aprosoja-RO recebeu relatos de que há espaços ociosos que poderiam estar atendendo aos produtores. O porto de Porto Velho é administrado pela Sociedade de Portos e Hidrovias de Rondônia (Soph), que informou que não administra as filas externas e não tem autoridade na área retroportuária de caminhões aguardando liberação para triagem nos terminais. Por Bruno Castro Envie comentários e solicite mais informações em feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . Todos os direitos reservados.

Brazil central bank raises target rate to 14.25pc


25/03/20
25/03/20

Brazil central bank raises target rate to 14.25pc

Sao Paulo, 20 March (Argus) — Brazil's central bank raised its target interest rate by 1 percentage point to 14.25pc amid accelerating inflation in a decelerating — but still heated — economy. The hike in the target rate, announced Wednesday, was the fifth in a row from a cyclical low of 10.5pc at the end of September last year, partly prompted by accelerating depreciation of the currency, the real, to the US dollar. Brazil's annualized inflation hit 5.06pc in February and is poised to keep accelerating. The bank's Focus economic report increased its inflation forecast to 5.7pc for the end-of-year 2025 from 5.5pc in January, when the bank's policy-making committee last met. Brazil's current government has an inflation ceiling goal of 3pc with tolerance of 1.5 percentage point above or below. The bank has recently changed the way it tracks the inflation goal. Instead of tracking inflation on a calendar year basis, it now monitors the goal on a rolling 12-month basis. The bank cited heated economic activity and a strong labor market as factors that have contributed to rising inflation. But the bank forecasts "modest GDP growth" for Brazil of almost 2pc in 2025, down from 3.4pc growth last year. Further tightening will also be linked to global economic uncertainty prompted by US president Donald Trump's aggressive trade and other policies and the monetary policies of the US Federal Reserve , according to the bank. Brazil's target interest rate is expected to keep rising at the bank's next meeting in 6-7 May, albeit to "a lesser extent" as the contributing factors are set to moderate, according to the committee. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU delays retaliatory tariffs on US goods to mid-April


25/03/20
25/03/20

EU delays retaliatory tariffs on US goods to mid-April

Brussels, 20 March (Argus) — The EU has decided to delay its countermeasures to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports until mid-April, allowing extra time for negotiations with Washington and consultation on which goods to include in its retaliatory levies, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said today. The EU had planned to impose its tariffs in two phases, the first on 1 April and the second on 13 April, but it has now decided that both sets of measures will be brought in together on 13 April. The first round of EU tariffs is a reinstatement of levies that the bloc imposed during President Donald Trump's first term in office in 2018 and 2020 on goods "ranging ranging from boats to bourbon to motorbikes". The second round is a new package of additional measures to reflect the fact that Trump's tariffs this time around are broader in scope and affect a higher value of trade. The European Commission needs to review with stakeholders the list of US products to be included, Sefcovic said. "We are now considering to align the timing of the two sets of EU countermeasures so we can consult with member states on both lists simultaneously," he said. Sefcovic noted that a US trade investigation into copper and wood, including derivatives, could lead to additional tariffs against EU products and that the US is considering measures on shipbuilding that could have negative effects on EU maritime firms. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Brazil's soybean outflow causes truck queue in Rondonia


25/03/20
25/03/20

Brazil's soybean outflow causes truck queue in Rondonia

Sao Paulo, 20 March (Argus) — The waiting time for shipping the 2024-25 soybean crop at Brazil's port of Porto Velho reached six days this week, according to the local soybean producers association Aprosoja-RO. Lack of port infrastructure and farm storage, combined with the 2024-25 oilseed harvest peak in recent weeks, increased the truck queue for the flow of cargo at the port, in Brazil's northern state of Rondonia. "We have a queue of up to 1,200 trucks at the Porto Velho sorting yard, where all the production from the state and from Mato Grosso's northwest region are transported," said the administrative director of Aprosoja-RO, Marcelo Lucas. The cargo is shipped and continues along the Madeira River to the port of Santarem, in northern Para state, where it is exported. The 2024-25 soybean harvest in Rondonia is expected to reach 2.4mn metric tonnes (t), up by 7pc from the previous cycle, according to the national supply company Conab. Rondonia state did not have difficulties of this magnitude in previous years, but because of the peak in this cycle's harvest, there is a higher volume to be transported in a shorter period of time, according to Aprosoja-RO. Aprosoja-RO also said the logistical bottlenecks have caused losses to producers, who are unable to transport the harvest from their properties. The cargoes that are able to be loaded end up degraded because of the long waits in lines. Farmers are also absorbing the costs of keeping trucks parked in warehouses and ports, raising road freight prices to levels above what is traditionally practiced in the region, said Aprosoja-RO. In the week ending 13 March road grain freight on the Sapezal-Porto Velho corridor reached R235/t ($42/t), compared to R185/t in the same period in 2024. The entity said they are working with the state government to review the concession of the Porto Velho port, allowing other companies to operate it. Aprosoja-RO received reports that there are idle spaces that could be serving the producers. The port of Porto Velho is managed by the state ports and waterways society Soph, which said it does not manage the external truck queues, and does not have authority in the retroport area of trucks awaiting clearance for sorting to the terminals. By Bruno Castro Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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