U.S. grain transportation showed mixed signals during the week ending June 20, with rail shipments posting strong gains while ocean vessel activity declined from the prior year.
Class I railroads originated 28,942 grain carloads during the week ending June 13, an 8-percent increase from the previous week and 17 percent more than the same week last year. The figure topped the 3-year average by 30 percent.
Average June shuttle secondary railcar bids and offers came in at $13 below tariff for the week ending June 18, down $75 from the previous week but $75 higher than the comparable period last year. No non-shuttle bids or offers were recorded.
Barge and river traffic
Barged grain movements totaled 538,050 tons for the week ending June 20, representing a 4-percent increase from the previous week. However, the total was 29 percent less than the same week last year.
River traffic showed growth, with 463 barges moving downriver, 133 more than the previous week. In the New Orleans region, 401 grain barges were unloaded, a 27-percent decrease from the prior week.
Ocean shipping
Twenty oceangoing grain vessels were loaded at the Gulf during the week ending June 18, 5 percent fewer than the same period last year. Within the next 10 days starting June 19, 39 vessels were expected to be loaded, representing an 11-percent decline from the same timeframe last year.
Shipping rates moved lower. The rate for transporting grain from the U.S. Gulf to Japan was $71.50 per metric ton, down 1 percent from the previous week. The rate from the Pacific Northwest to Japan was $36.75 per metric ton, also down 1 percent week-over-week.
Unshipped balances of corn and soybeans totaled 21.13 million metric tons as of June 18, down 2 percent from the prior week but up 27 percent from the same time last year.
