WASHINGTON, DC, US — Total transportation costs for shipping corn and soybeans through the US Gulf route increased from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2023, while Pacific Northwest (PNW) route costs for both commodities fell slightly, according to the Jan. 4 Grain Transportation Report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The costs for shipping bulk grain from Minneapolis to Japan through the Gulf rose from an average of $83.43 to $101.50 per tonne (21.6%), owing mostly to a nearly 104% increase in barge rates from $17.68 to $35.99 per tonne. Truck rates rose modestly from $14.19 to $14.75 per tonne (3.9%) while ocean freight rates dipped from $51.56 to $50.76 (-1.5%). However, total transportation costs remained down nearly 22% in the third quarter year-on-year.

“Although low water restrictions along the Mississippi River System (MRS) constricted barge traffic in third quarter 2023, slow third-quarter export sales prevented barge rates from rising as high as during third quarter 2022, when the MRS had had similar restrictions in place,” the USDA said. 

At 4.4 million tonnes, third-quarter 2023 corn inspections through the Gulf fell 25% year-on-year and accounted for 65% of total corn inspections. Gulf route soybean shipments fell 25% to 3.7 million tonnes and accounted for 77% of total soybean inspections.

For the week ended Dec. 28, 2023, 69.8 million bushels of grain were inspected, down 36% from the previous week, down 19% from the same week last year and down 39% from the three-year average.

The United States exports approximately one-quarter of the grain it produces. On average, this includes nearly 45% of wheat, 50% of soybeans, and 20% of corn. About 55% of the US export grain shipments departed through the Gulf region in 2019.

With lower rail and ocean rates, total transportation costs from Minneapolis to Japan via the PNW route fell from $103.46 to $101.27 per tonne (-2.1%) for corn and from $110.81 to $109.23 per tonne (-1.4%) for soybeans in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Rail rates dropped 3% ($60.92 to $59.09) for corn and 2% ($68.27 to $67.05) for soybeans, while ocean rates were down 3.25% for both corn and soybeans from $28.35 to $27.43. Quarterly truck transportation costs were up 3.9% for both commodities to $14.75 from $14.19.

Year-on-year, the PNW route has seen a 16.5% slide in total transportation costs for corn from $121.33 to $101.27 per tonne and down 15.6% for soybeans from $129.48 to $109.23.

There were no PNW corn inspections during third quarter 2023. Soybean inspections were 78,000 tonnes, down 89% from the previous year. PNW soybean inspections were 2% of total third-quarter 2023 soybean inspections.

The Columbia Snake River System (CSRS) is scheduled to close from Jan. 14 until midnight on March 29. The extended closure will allow the Walla Walla District of the US Army Corps of Engineers to perform routine maintenance and to replace aging equipment.

The maintenance and replacements are required to reduce the risk of infrastructure failures at the John Day and McNary dams on the Columbia River and the Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams on the Snake River. Similar extended closures also occurred in 2010 and 2016. 

From 2016 to 2020, an average of 31.3 million tonnes of wheat, corn and soybeans were shipped on or through the CSRS.