Rail capacity and operational issues have been market factors the past 18 months or more, and are increasingly having an impact as evidenced by reports of critically low feed supplies on the West Coast and the Southwest. Last week a bipartisan group of 51 Members of Congress signed a letter to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) citing: Feed mills, integrated livestock and poultry operations, and other agricultural operations are also experiencing pervasively poor rail service. This has led to shutdowns and slowdowns at ethanol plants, soybean crushers, flour mills, and livestock and poultry feed mills that are severely challenging agricultural supply chains … Further, last month Foster Farms, the poultry comp...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.