U.S. Class I railroads originated 26,268 grain carloads during the week ending Aug. 29, down 6% from the previous week but up 11% from last year and 23% higher than the three-year average according to the Agricultural Marketing Service’s weekly Grain Transportation Report.
Rail shipping costs continued to rise. Average September shuttle secondary railcar bids reached $742 above tariff for the week ending Sept. 3, up $104 from the previous week and $788 more than the same week last year. Non-shuttle secondary railcar bids averaged $19 above tariff, up $6 from last week and $50 more than this time last year.
Barge traffic on inland waterways slowed considerably. For the week ending Sept. 5, barged grain movements totaled 359,550 tons, a 33% drop from the previous week, though unchanged from last year. The number of barges moving downriver fell to 265, down 81 from the week before.
Activity picked up at the New Orleans port, where 715 grain barges were unloaded, 53% more than the previous week.
Ocean shipping in the Gulf region saw reduced activity compared with last year. Twenty oceangoing grain vessels loaded during the week ending Sept. 3, down 23% from the same period last year. Looking ahead, 32 vessels are expected to load within the next 10 days starting Sept. 4, representing a 32% decrease from last year.
Shipping rates to Japan increased slightly. The rate for shipping a metric ton of grain from the U.S. Gulf to Japan reached $76.25, up 2% from the previous week. Pacific Northwest to Japan rates stood at $37.50 per metric ton, up 1% from the week before.
