U.S., Canada Grain Industry Waivers but Does Not Fall

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. and Canadian grain industry projects continue to thrive even as the market seems to waver. Canada's total production of wheat, barley, corn and oats is forecast to reach 53.6 million tons in 2016-17. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said in an April 29 report that this is a 1.5% increase from 2015-to-2016 production levels.

Wheat and barley production are forecast to increase by 4% and 1.3%, respectively, from 2015-16. Corn production is forecast to drop by 1.6%. Total imports are forecast to fall nearly 5%, due mainly to higher domestic supplies of barley in 2016-17.

Capital expenditures indicate plans to develop or modify 183 facilities in the grain industry across the U.S. and Canada. The industry has had many blows this year as a result of low grain prices, but the outlook for the future is bright. Project spending plans are seen in most segments of the grain industry, from state-of--the-art grain facilities to grain export terminals. The amassed total investment value of these projects are $2.07 billion and consists of projects ranging in value from $500,000 to as high as $500 million.

Project plans with a construction start date of November or later shows 149 projects, with a cumulative investment value of $1.34 billion, while projects already in the construction phase point to $542 million from 31 projects. Eight projects, including a grassroot grain and barge terminal and grain elevator rebuild, have completion dates scheduled for 2016. By the end of 2017, which forecasts the bulk of capital spending with 108 projects worth $934.44 million, are slated to wrap up the construction phase, and while project delays are plausible, figures for 2018 show the kickoff and completion of another 45 projects, worth $409.84 million.

According to Industrial Info's Food & Beverage Industry Intelligence Platform, 56% of all grain related projects are tied to grassroot capital expenditures, accounting for $1.17 billion, with 34 projects tied to storage and distribution of processed grain.

Click on the image at right to view a breakdown of grain industry spending by market region.

One of the largest projects is G3 Canada Limited's (Winnipeg, Manitoba) $500 million grain export terminal. Construction will kick-off in the second-quarter 2017 in Vancouver. Other examples of new facilities in the grain industry include:

• a $150 million Grain Loading/Unloading Barge Addition in Louisiana
• a $60 million Grassroot Soybean Extraction Plant & Grain Elevator Facility in Pennsylvania
• a $40 million Oat Processing Plant Grain Mill Addition in Saskatchewan
• a $90 million Grassroot Grain Elevator Facility in North Dakota

Industrial Info's platform of active capital and maintenance expenditures by the Food & Beverage Industry across the globe has current expenditures of $81.94 billion and more than 6,200 active projects. The North American section, including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, comes out to more than 3,400 active projects that total more than $46 billion.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at https://www.industrialinfo.com/.