Infrastructure
Harvest progress is up, but river levels are down. South of St. Louis, parts of the Mississippi River are so low from weeks of drought that barge traffic is being limited.
USDA unveiled additional plans to help boost domestic fertilizer production including $500 million in grants and reduce the risk of a series of black swans that have flown into the fertilizer market the past two years.
The Biden administration announced funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a “convenient and equitable” charging network of 500,000 stations.
A rail strike is looming despite the majority of unions reaching tentative agreement with the rail companies, but the unions not on board are essential to the operation of the nation’s rail system.
Have the Pacific Coast port bottleneck issues been resolved, or moved somewhere else? The East Coast may now be carrying the burden.
Rail shipments are already starting to shut down ahead of a possible strike which could begin as early as this Friday and it couldn’t come at a worse time for agriculture.
Grain shipments on some railroads could stop as early as Wednesday, two days ahead of a possible rail strike. A rail stoppage is growing more likely as the country’s main rail unions remain at odds with rail companies.
Widespread railroad disruptions could choke supplies of food and fuel, spawn transportation chaos, stoke inflation and cause $2 billion per day in lost economic output.
Tentative Deals Reached with Some Rail Unions and Railroads: Still More Work to do to Avert a Strike
Tentative deals have been reached with three of the 12 rail unions and large U.S. freight railroads. However, there’s more work to do to avert a strike.
From a train derailment outside Hereford, Texas, to growing concerns about a possible labor strike in mid-September, rail delays have been a severe pain point for the grain users and shippers all year.