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Grain Transportation Cost Indicators
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2024-06-13T16:06:20.000ZThis data shows the weekly cost indices of transporting grain by each mode: truck, rail, barge, and ocean-going vessels. The base of each index (set to 100) is the average of monthly costs in the year 2000. For truck, the base rate is $1.49 per gallon. For unit train, the base rate is $1,815.15 per railcar, including the tariff and fuel surcharges (weekly changes reflect the month tariff rate plus fuel surcharge, and weekly secondary railcar market bids). For shuttle train, the base rate is $2,338.28 per railcar, including the tariff and fuel surcharges (weekly changes reflect the month tariff rate plus fuel surcharge, and weekly secondary railcar market bids). For barge, the base rate is 180 and is based on Illinois River barge rates (see Downbound Grain Barge Rates dataset for more information). For the Gulf-to-Japan ocean route, the base rate is $22.36/metric ton. For the Pacific Northwest-to-Japan ocean route, the base rate is $14.10/metric ton.
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Bulk Vessel Fleet Size and Rates
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2021-07-13T15:10:51.596Z - API
Downbound Grain Barge Rates
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2024-06-13T16:06:28.000ZWeekly barge rates for downbound freight originating from seven locations along the Mississippi River System, which includes the Mississippi River and its tributaries (e.g., Upper Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ohio River, etc.). The seven locations are: (1) "Twin Cities," a stretch along the Upper Mississippi; (2) "Mid-Mississippi," a stretch between eastern Iowa and western Illinois; (3) "Illinois River," along the lower portion of the Illinois River; (4) "St. Louis"; (5) "Cincinnati," along the middle third of the Ohio River; (6) "Lower Ohio," approximately the final third of the Ohio River; and (7) "Cairo-Memphis," from Cairo, IL, to Memphis, TN (see map under Attachments). The U.S. Inland Waterway System utilizes a percent-of-tariff system to establish barge freight rates. The tariffs were originally from the Bulk Grain and Grain Products Freight Tariff No. 7, which were issued by the Waterways Freight Bureau (WFB) of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). In 1976, the United States Department of Justice entered into an agreement with the ICC and made Tariff No. 7 no longer applicable. Today, the WFB no longer exists, and the ICC has become the Surface Transportation Board, which does not have jurisdiction over barge rates on the inland waterways. However, the barge industry continues to use the tariffs as benchmarks for rate units. Each city on the river has its own benchmark, with the northern most cities having the highest benchmarks. They are as follows: Twin Cities = 619; Mid-Mississippi = 532; St. Louis = 399; Illinois = 464; Cincinnati = 469; Lower Ohio = 446; and Cairo-Memphis = 314. To calculate the rate in dollars per ton, multiply the percent of tariff rate by the 1976 benchmark and divide by 100: (Rate * 1976 tariff benchmark rate per ton)/100. As an example, a 271 percent tariff for a St. Louis grain barge would equal 271 percent of the St. Louis benchmark rate of $3.99, or $10.81 per ton.
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Refrigerated Truck Dashboard
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2020-02-14T20:55:06.978ZThis page contains a collection of figures covering refrigerated truck rates, availability, and volumes. Data is updated weekly, so check back often!
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Grain Exports Dashboard
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2019-05-23T18:31:18.583ZSee and interact with the latest grain export data.
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Rail Dashboard
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2020-06-15T15:32:04.523ZSee and interact with the latest grain rail data.
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Historical Diesel Fuel Prices
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2024-06-11T15:00:27.000ZLine chart showing the full timeline of average US on-highway diesel prices (all types) from the Energy Information Administration to highlight long term fuel price trends.
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Barge Dashboard
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2021-07-13T13:45:29.430ZThe agricultural industry relies on the U.S. inland waterways navigation system to ship grains from production States to domestic destinations and export markets. Via the Mississippi River System, barges deliver roughly 90 percent of the grain exported from the Mississippi Gulf port region. USDA collects the following two datasets on barged grain volumes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Lock Performance Monitoring System (LPMS) and Waterborne Commerce Statistics (WCS) data. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) also collects and reports barge freight rates every week. This dashboard collates a variety of important barge performance indices that will be updated as new data is available based on WCS and LPMS data. Each visualization provides a link to its underlying processed data. Another hyperlink from the processed data allows users the access to the raw datasets.
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Downbound Barge Grain Movements (Tons)
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2024-06-13T16:06:28.000ZThe Mississippi River (north of St. Louis, MO) and its tributaries (e.g., the Arkansas River, Illinois River, Ohio River, etc.) make use of a series of locks and dams to bring traffic up and down the waterways. Grain generally flows south from the relatively production-rich areas of the Midwest to export ports in Louisiana and feed markets in the southeast. This dataset provides weekly information on the amount (in tons), location, and commodity of barged grain transiting the following three major points: (1) the last lock on the Mississippi, Mississippi Locks 27 (called "Miss Locks 27" in the dataset), which captures downbound traffic from the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers; (2) the last lock on the Ohio River, Olmsted Locks and Dam (called "Ohio Olmstead" in the dataset), which captures any downbound traffic on the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers; and (3) the last lock on the Arkansas River, Arkansas River Lock and Dam 1 (called "Ark Lock 1" in the dataset). Ohio Olmsted locks replaced Ohio Locks 52 beginning in November 2018. Commodities include "corn," "soybeans," "wheat," and "other" (oats, barley, sorghum, and rye). Combined, these three locks give a sense of barge grain traffic (by commodity) on the Mississippi--since grain shipments heading south from the Upper Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ohio River, and Arkansas River are captured. Note, however, that this data does not include all grain barge movements on the Mississippi Rover System, as some grain originates on the Mississippi below the locking portion (south of St. Louis, MO). Grain traffic originating below Lock 27 on the Mississippi is about 10 to 30 percent of total downbound grain shipments, which varies year to year. A similar dataset, "Upbound and Downbound Loaded and Empty Barge Movements (Count)," contains information on the count of grain barges moving down the locking system (https://agtransport.usda.gov/d/w6ip-grsn) versus this dataset that shows tonnages. Data is collected weekly from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lock Performance Monitoring System.
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Train Speeds
internal.agtransport.usda.gov | Last Updated 2024-06-14T14:02:11.000ZWeekly train speeds data from the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) Rail Service Metrics. The STB began collecting service metrics from railroads in October 2014. As part of their submission to the STB, railroads provide data on the average speed of their trains (in miles per hour), broken out by commodity/type such as automotive, coal, crude oil, ethanol, grain, intermodal, manifest, etc. Railroads also report a “system average” train speed. According to the STB rulemaking, train speed should be measured for line-haul movements between terminals. The average speed for each train type should be calculated by dividing total train miles by total hours operated.