Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian Pacific Railway and U.S. railway Kansas City Southern on Wednesday again formalized their engagement after competing suitor Canadian National Railway walked away from the table. CP and KCS, which reported “unanimous” support from both companies’ boards, have entered a merger agreement committing CP to pay about $31 billion in cash and stock, or about […] Read more
CP, Kansas City lock in new deal as CN steps out
More efficient flow of grain, perishables, machinery parts touted
GM’s pickup money machine gets a technology tuneup
Silverado ZR2 to appeal to extreme off-roading segment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Detroit | Reuters — General Motors will give its best-selling Chevrolet Silverado large pickup truck models a makeover next spring to fix competitive shortcomings that have left Chevy in third place in one of the most lucrative vehicle market segments in the world. Catching up with rival trucks from Stellantis NV and Ford Motor Co., […] Read more
GM to cut North American production, citing chip shortage
Both GM, Ford cutting truck production
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — General Motors will reduce production at most North American assembly plants this month because of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage, hitting its profitable truck and sport utility vehicles, it said Thursday. The largest U.S. automaker will halt production next week at its Fort Wayne plant in Indiana and its Silao plant […] Read more
Deere lifts 2021 forecast on solid equipment demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Deere and Co. on Friday raised its full-year earnings forecast after quarterly profit topped Wall Street estimates on the back of strong demand for farm and construction equipment. The world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer now expects net income in fiscal 2021 to be between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion, up from a range […] Read more
Maersk signs first green methanol deal toward dropping fossil fuels
Reading Time: 2 minutes Copenhagen | Reuters — A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday it had signed a contract securing green methanol as the world’s largest shipping firm gears up to operate its first carbon-neutral ship in 2023. With about 90 per cent of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly three per cent of the world’s […] Read more
The Andersons to pay debt, invest in core units after rail business sale
Renewable fuels, specialty foods investments considered
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain handler The Andersons plans to use US$550 million from the sale of its rail leasing business to pay down debt and invest in sustainable farming and low carbon initiatives in its core grain and fertilizer units, CEO Pat Bowe told Reuters on Tuesday. Maumee, Ohio-based Andersons sold its rail […] Read more
Richardson buys up veg oil-based drilling lubricant maker
Grain firm supplies canola oil to Control Chemical
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Calgary maker of Matex drilling fluids is under new ownership from one of its minority owners and its biggest supplier of crude canola oil. Winnipeg grain firm Richardson International announced last Tuesday it has bought full ownership of Control Chemical Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Control Chemical is billed as a specialized manufacturer of […] Read more
Brandt to buy Deere dealership chain Cervus
Regina firm to pay $302 million in all-cash deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes The world’s biggest privately-owned chain of Deere construction and forestry equipment dealerships is set to expand its reach into Deere farm equipment in a major way. Brandt Tractor, the equipment sales arm of the Regina-based Brandt Group, on Monday announced an agreement to buy all of publicly-traded Cervus Equipment Corp. for $19.50 a share, valuing […] Read more
A “manual” for the farm
Luke Sheppard’s lessons from 20 years at Deere
Reading Time: 5 minutes What do you get when a John Deere insider writes about business? Well, this is no run-of-the-mill self-help book. It’s designed and written just like that tractor service manual on your shop shelf. It’s packed with specific instructions, diagrams and spreadsheets, all designed to help the reader take logical steps and methodically correct problems or […] Read more
Deere, Bear Flag aim to automate tractors as ‘fast as possible’
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters – U.S. tractor maker Deere & Co said on Thursday it would buy tech startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million, with the goal of developing over the next year systems Deere can sell to allow farm tractors to operate without a human driver in the cab. “We are effectively in market with real […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
