Over the past 18 months, an abundance of natural gas and record-breaking commodities prices brightened prospects for engineers and contractors involved in the business of building new fertilizer manufacturing capacity. NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service, St. Louis, recalls dozens of announcements for new plants and capacity expansion during this time, but the market has cooled a bit and industry newcomers could find margins very tight.
Still, projects under various stages of construction and development are now proceeding in Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota and Montana, after developers noticed ever-increasing acreage of commodity crops and a fertilizer supply gap in local markets. “Corn and canola are expanding with new varieties in North Dakota, Minnesota and Canada,” says Larry Macke, COO of Northern Plains Nitrogen, Grand Forks, N.D. “And a major cost of fertilizer is transporting it.”