Did You Know?

The St. Lawrence Seaway is comprised of the Saint Lawrence River, the five Great Lakes, and the waterways connecting the Great Lakes. The system includes 14 locks and extends approximately 2,500 miles – from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to Lake Superior in the west.

Opened in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway is closed during the winter – usually from December to March. In 2010, over 24 million bushels of soybeans were exported from the St. Lawrence Seaway system (2 percent of U.S. total soybean exports).

Source: USDA

Soy Transportation Coalition elects officers for 2012

The Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) announced its newly elected officers at its December 12 board meeting.

Illinois Soybean Association to Host Agricultural Export Symposium

The Illinois Soybean Association will be hosting an agricultural export symposium on Feb. 16, 2012, at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. The event titled “Agriculture and Transportation: Hand in Hand” will be an agriculture, trade and transportation conference focusing on the development of export opportunities and training for Illinois farmers and processors.

China wants to invest in U.S. and European infrastructure

China wants to invest in infrastructure improvements in the U.S. and Europe, according to the chairman of the Asian superpower’s sovereign wealth fund.  China Investment Corp.’s $410 billion fund was created in 2007 and has so far reportedly kept a low profile with smaller investments in publically traded companies in order to avoid political issues in foreign markets.

Federal Truck Regulators Issue Tougher Driver Rules

Federal safety regulators issued tougher new hours of service regulations for truck drivers on December 22 maintaining the 11-hour daily limit that shippers and carriers says is central to U.S. domestic supply chains but also creating tighter requirements for rest periods and total weekly time on the road. 

APM Terminals Wins Lazaro Cardenas Bid

APM Terminals won the right to build and operate a deepwater container terminal at the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, a $900 million project central to the Mexican port’s bid to compete for U.S. international shipments.