MARKETS
Nitrogen Presents a Mixed Price Pattern Anhydrous ammonia price increase has not raised price of ammonium sulfate or urea Practically all eastern ammonia pro ducers have followed Allied Chemi cal in boosting anhydrous ammonia from the long standing basic price of $88 to $92 per ton. The $92 quota tion will not become effective until Oct. 1. Prior to that date anhydrous will be available at $84. Since ammonia is the basic material in the manufacture of many nitrogen fertilizers, price of these products usually increases along with ammonia. However, this time it has not worked out that way. Ammonium sulfate, both coke-oven and synthetic, re
mains at $32 per ton, and urea, in stead of getting a higher price sched ule, is being placed on a straight f .o.b. works basis of $98 per ton. It for merly sold on "delivered" terms. Actually this may result in some savings to urea buyers, but probably not as much as the $25 per ton that some reports have indicated. Freight charges will be equalized with com peting producing points. Allied ex plains that the change in the urea pric ing policy merely improves its market ing services to customers. Solutions Expand. Nitrogen solu
Price of Ammonia Reaches 10-Year High $100 ι
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tions, however, have gone up in price along with anhydrous. In 1958 and in 1959, nitrogen solutions and am monium nitrate showed the largest tonnage gains of all direct-application fertilizer materials used. The solu tions used in manufacturing currently sell for $126 per ton. On Jan. 1 the price will increase to $132 per ton. Ammonium nitrate, which is rapidly gaining along with urea over am monium sulfate, will be $70 per ton, f.o.b. works, on Jan. 1, compared with the past fertilizer season price of $68. Spencer Chemical says the increase reflects rising costs of materials, trans portation, labor, and warehousing. Storage facilities needed to stock nitrogen materials for the active spring demand have never been adequate. The big factor here is cost. Manu facturers say that amortization costs for anhydrous ammonia storage facili ties run between $15 and $20 per ton a year. A Hortonsphere of 2500-ton ca pacity costs in the neighborhood of $275,000. The need for pressure stor age has expanded with the greater use
Anhydrous Output Has Tripled Since 1960 , ,
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