The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has released a new U.S. Grain Rail Exports to Mexico Dashboard on its Agricultural Transportation Open Data platform, offering unprecedented transparency into rail shipments to America’s top grain customer.
The dashboard highlights recent rail exports to Mexico using inspections data, displays maps of annual grain rail flows across the border, and provides an interactive map of U.S.-to-Mexico-border tariff rail rates.
“This timely, transparent information supports exporters in securing competitive rates, helping to keep U.S. grain competitive with the rest of the world,” the USDA stated in its announcement.
Mexico ranks as the leading destination for U.S. corn and wheat exports and the second-largest market for U.S. soybeans behind China, according to 10-year trade data from 2014 to 2024. The country’s proximity to the United States and resulting low transportation costs—particularly by rail—have driven these substantial purchases.
The dashboard reveals that 67 percent of U.S. grain exports to Mexico traveled overland (almost exclusively by rail) from 2019 to 2024, with the remaining 33 percent shipped by ocean. Nearly all overland grain exports (97 percent) moved through three Texas border crossings: Eagle Pass, El Paso, and Laredo.
Users can analyze tariff rate variations based on origin, distance, and commodity. The tool shows that Wisconsin and Missouri have lower rates than other nearby origins, likely due to competition with barge transportation on the Mississippi River.
The dashboard also tracks rate changes over time, showing that corn and soybean rates have increased since 2022, while wheat rates have fallen—possibly reflecting impacts from the 2023 CPKC merger.
The release comes as major railroads announce rate changes. Beginning in September, BNSF will lower nearly all soybean tariff rates to Mexico by $1,000 per car, while Union Pacific plans reductions of $900-$1,300 per car. For corn shipments, UP will lower tariff rates by $150 per car in October.
