Operating margins for shuttle loaders have been exceptionally good in recent years because of good crops and strong demand, but are now becoming more compressed as additional facilities come on line and the competition for volume again starts to heat up.CoBank recently published a very good article on how the number of grain shuttle loading facilities has reached the saturation point, and I couldn't agree more. I started in the grain business back in the mid-70s when single car rail shipments were still the norm for most of the U.S. The exceptions were the big trains that moved from Illinois directly to the Louisiana Gulf. U.S. railroads were still regulated at that time. Deregulation came with the Staggers Act in 1980, which led to unbelie...
Key Takeaways: Milk alone has not covered the full economic cost in any year since 2021: milk revenue fell short by $4.50, $2.15, $6.50, $1.27 and $2.34 per hundredweight in 2021 through 2025. Calf and cattle prices decided whether dairies cleared cost: cattle and other income lifted total rev...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets are mixed with Capesize rates seeing solid gains while Panamax values slipped on a growing tonnage list. Supramax and Handysize vessels were stronger, though all sectors remain vulnerable to the seasonal dip in rates through Q4 and into Q1. Falling water l...
What You Need to Know Today: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.75 to 4.0 percent Wednesday, with two officials dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase. The Fed upgraded its assessment of economic growth from "solid" to "strong" but adopted a more patient approa...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.