Crude glycerin prices in the US softened on Tuesday August 27, with one buyer indicating they were able to fill upcoming spot shipments at 9.5 cents per lb. A biodiesel/glycerin producer confirmed trading at the same price and indicated they had sold additional product in the range of 9-11 cents per lb FOB.

Some supply concerns and anxiety on the market about overall rail movement were abated after the Canadian rail strike/walkout, which was expected to leave billions of dollars of cargo stranded, was averted when Federal Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon intervened on Thursday August 22, imposing binding arbitration on the parties involved.

Representatives from the coal freeze industry were speaking with glycerin producers and traders this week — “kicking the tires,” as one trader put it — while attempting to size up the market. Glycerin is used as an antifreeze agent for coal.

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