The first quarter of 2019 shows transportation costs for shipping corn and soybeans, from Minneapolis, MN, through the Gulf and the Pacific Northwest (PNW) to Japan, decreased compared to the same period in 2018.
According to USDA's Grain Transportation Report, year-to-year transportation costs for shipping corn and soybeans were down slightly for each route. A large drop in first quarter trucking rates, coupled with lower ocean freight rates, caused the decrease in the cost of shipping from each region.
Ocean rates decreased as shipping activity slowed during the holiday seasons and the demand for coal became stagnant (April 25, 2019 Grain Transportation Report (GTR)). Year-to-year landed costs were up slightly for corn but were down for shipping soybeans from Minnesota to Japan.
View charts and read the full report here.
