By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Representatives and farmer-members from the Illinois Soybean Assoc. (ISA) met in Memphis, Tenn., May 1-2 to participate in the Grain and Oilseed Transportation Conference and discuss problems with shipping agricultural products in containers.
One problem currently facing the United States ag export market is the lack of available shipping containers, said Mark Albertson, ISA’s director of marketing and special projects.
“The devaluation of the U.S. dollar has made importing items from Asia less desirable, and one of the results is more competition for shipping containers for back-hauls,” said Albertson, who attended the conference. “Elevators and grain exporters are competing for the available containers.”
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition met in emergency session in late April to discuss the container shortage crisis, where ag exporters from across the U.S. related stories of shortages and rising costs.
According to an ISA report on the meeting, one shipper reported that his rate would increase by 51 percent in May. Another related how they are “600 containers behind” due to the inability to secure space on ships.
The culprit appears to be the gross weight of containers laden with soybeans or other weighty crops, compared to the weight of the goods arriving on U.S. shores.
“Containers loaded with agricultural products are much heavier than others, and steam ships can’t fit as many on their ships as we’d like them to be able to because of weight restrictions,” Albertson said. “They must balance the weight by shipping them along with empty containers.”
Shipping soybeans and other crops by steamship in containers has only recently been embraced as a viable transportation method by ag exporters. An increase in bulk shipping rates in 2007 led the surge in container shipping, Albertson said, conceding the process has not been without its share of problems.
“The shipping industry is not as enthusiastic about shipping ag products in containers right now; we’re kind of on their back burner,” he said. “Overloading and spills can cause huge problems.
“We must work to develop good relationships, explain our needs and work with them as much as possible.”
Though only a small amount of soybeans and soy meal are shipped in containers, the amount of grains shipped in that fashion is expected to increase by 4.5 percent in 2008, according to information provided by the ISA.
Less than 1 percent was shipped in containers as recently as 2005.