The U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest weekly Grain Transportation Report reveals significant declines in grain export sales, with notable shifts across various transportation sectors for the week ending February 20, 2025.
Net corn export sales for marketing year 2024/25 plummeted 45 percent from the previous week to 0.80 million metric tons (mmt). Wheat sales experienced an even steeper decline, falling 50 percent to 0.27 mmt. Soybean export sales also decreased, though less dramatically, dropping 14 percent to 0.41 mmt.
The transportation landscape presented a mixed picture:
Rail: U.S. Class I railroads originated 19,702 grain carloads for the week ending February 22, a 15 percent decrease from the previous week and 24 percent below the three-year average.
Barge: Movements totaled 422,250 tons for the week ending March 1, showing a slight increase of 3 percent from the previous week but remaining 2 percent lower than the same period last year.
Ocean freight: The Gulf saw 27 grain vessels loaded for the week ending February 27, a 23 percent decrease from the same period last year. Shipping rates to Japan increased marginally from both the U.S. Gulf and Pacific Northwest.
In the fuel sector, the U.S. average diesel price decreased 6.2 cents to $3.635 per gallon for the week ending March 3, positioning it 38.7 cents below the same week last year.
