U.S. Class I railroads originated 26,705 grain carloads during the week ending August 8, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service’s weekly Grain Transportation Report. While this marked a 4% decrease from the previous week, the figure was 11% higher than last year and 23% above the three-year average.
Rail costs continued climbing. Average August shuttle secondary railcar bids reached $150 above tariff for the week ending August 13, up $67 from the previous week and $270 more than the same week last year. Non-shuttle secondary railcar bids averaged $50 above tariff, $6 more than last week but $25 lower than this time last year.
Barge movements slowed during the week ending August 15, with 638,650 tons transported. This was 11% less than the previous week and 4% below last year. The number of barges moving downriver dropped to 426, down 34 from the week before. New Orleans saw 684 grain barges unloaded, 6% fewer than the previous week.
Ocean shipping showed mixed results. Gulf ports loaded 29 oceangoing grain vessels during the week ending August 13, a 164% jump from last year. However, the 10-day outlook showed 31 vessels expected to load, 34% fewer than the same period last year.
Diesel fuel prices surged to $5.454 per gallon for the week ending August 17, up 19.7 cents from the previous week and 174.1 cents above last year.
Export sales data showed unshipped balances of corn and soybeans totaled 7.58 million metric tons, down 21% from last week.
