CHS to close Twin Ports’ largest grain elevator in August

CHS Inc agents notified local officers and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Evolution that the company plans to permanently close the largest grain elevator in the Twin Ports The facility in Superior will cease operations effective Aug according to the notice provided to the Department of Workforce Advance CHS has not yet made a society announcement or responded to an inquiry from the Duluth Media Group The decision has been decades in the making with the decline in the volume of grain that transits through the Superior terminal reported John Griffith senior vice president of global grain marketing for CHS It s not just a CHS decline Griffith reported It s an entire grain export from the Duluth-Superior port that has declined over the past couple of decades and it definitively reached the point where there wasn t the critical mass of grain movements through the port anymore He reported with the progression of larger unit trains and new facilities grain can be moved to deep-water ports and moved on larger ships that have lower costs for transportation to reach the same customers I think that has been kind of the evolution over time that has brought us to this point after nearly years in the port Griffith commented The challenging part of the decision was the employees Griffith disclosed The closure will impact union employees who will be permanently separated from the company Sept Two additional employees will continue to work until about Dec My heart goes out to them explained Rep Angela Stroud D-Ashland who was notified about the closure by company leaders Thursday July I understand it I myself just got laid off last year It s extremely disruptive and you know frankly depressing and scary So I understand what they re going through and I really feel for them and I m here to help in any way I possibly can Stroud encouraged anyone who has difficulty with the unemployment system to reach out to her office for assistance It s devastating anytime you lose a important employer Stroud disclosed Exports falling for decades Superior Mayor Jim Paine who was briefed on the closure Thursday morning stated he was narrated the reason is tied to the global business activity and global shipping routes It s obviously bad news especially for those employees and we need to do what we can to take care of them but this is one of the challenges of working with commodities-based industry Paine commented Exports of grain by ship from the Port of Duluth-Superior have been falling for decades down from a high of million metric tons in to tons in the lowest since Related Articles New lawsuit seeks to redraw Wisconsin s congressional maps before midterms Judge recommends that occurrence against Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan proceed St Croix motorcyclist dies of injuries from July crash killed in St Croix County head-on crash Wisconsin Supreme Court s liberal majority strikes down -year-old abortion ban The and shipping seasons were only slight improvements at and tons respectively according to port statistics That is driven in part by a changing sphere For example soybeans now go by rail to the West Coast and the geographic area where grains were harvested before being sent to the port for movement has shrunk among other factors And in late fewer ocean-going vessels or salties were reaching Duluth with wind turbine components making it less likely and more expensive to send empty salties into the westernmost port on the Great Lakes Part of the concern was the war in Ukraine which shifted European demand for corn and beans from the Black Sea to particular Great Lakes ports like Chicago and Toledo Salties discharging in lakes Michigan Erie or Huron are less likely to sail empty to the Port of Duluth-Superior to fill up with grain CHS functionaries disclosed at the time The war continues more than three years after Russia s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a major agricultural producer on the continent Despite lower shipping figures grain has still moved through the Twin Ports by train including at CHS However unlike shipping s tonnage reports the amount of grain moved by rail is not residents Possible reuse of facility The CHS decision to cease operations at its Superior terminal is a disappointing blow to the Port of Duluth-Superior and the society as a whole the Duluth Seaway Port Authority wrote in a prepared announcement The majority this instant our thoughts are with the employees who will be affected by this decision We will work with the city of Superior to seek solutions that could lead to a more positive outcome and hopefully continued use of this grain terminal Those are really large and effective grain elevators so sitting empty and doing nothing is not its best future Paine stated Stroud disclosed she solicited what would happen to the facility and CHS representatives disclosed they would be available to help transition the infrastructure CHS owns to any entities that might be interested Related Articles Working Strategies Second Sunday Series Guidance to manage an AI world Job scams are on the rise and more people are falling for them Protect yourself with these tips Musk s latest Grok chatbot searches for billionaire mogul s views before answering questions Strike to end Saturday for wellbeing care workers at Stillwater clinic issues not resolved What happens to authorized users when the primary credit card holder dies It s very practicable that another company would have interest in doing very similar engagements at the facility Griffith revealed The facility is certainly still operational so we will look to disposition the facility in the the majority effective and thoughtful way attainable up to and including a sale of the facility Griffith explained This is bad news for that pier and that terminal but in terms of the port overall the port is still growing and the port is still performing very strongly Paine noted We just had that million commitment in C Reiss just a little procedures over There s still development and strength in global shipping but it is a moving market Reporter Jimmy Lovrien contributed to this story