Barge traffic, cargo increase at LR port
Barge traffic at the Port of Little Rock increased 44 percent in January compared with the same month in 2018, while cargo tonnage handled rose 41 percent, according to the latest port data.
The port worked 39 barges last month, which was a dozen more than the 27 barges the port worked in January a year ago. The port handled 58,000 tons of cargo in January, or 17,000 more tons than the port handled in the same month in 2018.
The slack-water harbor worked 30 barges while the main river terminal worked nine, according to the port. Commodities handled included nepheline syenite, potash, steel coils and wire rod coils, the port said.
Cargo moved in January on the the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, of which the Little Rock port is a part, totaled 850,571 tons, a 5 percent decline compared with the same month in 2018, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Iron and steel cargo totaled 192,300 tons, a 121 percent increase, while soybeans totaled 94,000 tons, a 45 percent drop.
-- Noel Oman
Farms' broiler-chick purchases drop 5%
Arkansas broiler-chick placements fell 5 percent to 20.9 million for the week that ended Saturday compared with the same period last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.
The number of meat chicks purchased by farmers, referred to as "placements," was more than 1 million less than last year's, according to the weekly broiler chicken report released Wednesday.
Approximately 22 million broilers were placed at Arkansas farms during the same period in 2018, data show. This is 4 percent more than the results posted for the comparable week in 2017.
Meanwhile, Arkansas hatcheries set 24.7 million eggs for the week that ended Saturday. This is 2 percent more than in the same period last year.
The term "set" refers to the number of broiler eggs placed into incubators before eventually hatching and being shipped to chicken growers.
Arkansas ranks second in the nation for broiler production, according to the Poultry Federation.
-- Nathan Owens
Arkansas Index adds 1.26, ends at 425.64
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 1.26 to 425.64 Wednesday.
"Equities advanced, led by the materials sector following the release of minutes from the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting that reflected a continued dovish stance by the Federal Reserve," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 43.1 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 02/21/2019