Transportation costs for shipping wheat from Kansas and North Dakota to Japan declined in the third quarter of 2025, while wheat inspections for export to Japan increased 13 percent according to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Grain Transportation Report.
Transportation costs varied by route, with Pacific Northwest (PNW) routes seeing a 4 percent decrease quarter to quarter from Kansas but a 2 percent increase from North Dakota. Gulf routes experienced increases of 5 percent from Kansas and 7 percent from North Dakota. Year to year, transportation costs fell across most routes due to lower rail, truck, and ocean freight rates.
Rail freight rates fell 10 percent quarter to quarter from Kansas on PNW routes but rose 1 percent from North Dakota. Gulf rail rates dropped 8 percent from Kansas and rose 3 percent from North Dakota. Truck freight rates increased 8 percent quarter to quarter from Kansas but declined 4 percent from North Dakota. Ocean freight rates rose 7 percent quarter to quarter on PNW routes and 17 percent on Gulf routes, driven by strong global bulk demand and seasonal shipping patterns.
Total landed costs, which combine farm values and transportation costs, declined for all routes. For PNW routes, landed costs were $260 per metric ton from Kansas and $300 per metric ton from North Dakota, down 8 percent and 4 percent quarter to quarter, respectively. Gulf-route landed costs were $267 per metric ton from Kansas and $323 per metric ton from North Dakota, down 5 percent and 2 percent quarter to quarter.
Farm values fell notably year to year, contributing to the overall decline in landed costs. Farm values accounted for about 63 percent of total landed costs on PNW routes from Kansas and 65 percent from North Dakota. On Gulf routes, farm values made up 62 percent from Kansas and 60 percent from North Dakota.
Wheat inspections for export to Japan totaled 567,000 metric tons in the third quarter of 2025, a 13 percent increase quarter to quarter and year to year. Japan accounted for 7 percent of total U.S. wheat export inspections, which rose 20 percent to about 8.3 million metric tons. The increase was driven by higher shipments to Nigeria and various Latin American and Asian countries.
The USDA projects U.S. wheat exports for marketing year 2025/26 to increase 9 percent from the previous year, reflecting growing global demand.
This data highlights the evolving dynamics of wheat transportation costs and export volumes, with lower farm values and transportation expenses easing landed costs even as demand for U.S. wheat exports strengthens.
