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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Grain and oilseed inspections for export from all major US export regions in the week ended May 13 totaled 2.9 million tonnes, up 13% from the previous week, up 37% from the same week in 2020, and 19% higher in comparison with the three-year average for the week, the US Department of Agriculture said in its weekly Grain Transportation Report.

By commodity, soybeans led the charge in the latest reported week, with a 27% increase over the previous week, followed by wheat, up 17%, and corn, up 10%.

The increase in inspections was driven by Pacific Northwest (PNW) grain inspections, which totaled 1.074 million tonnes in the week, up 41% from the previous week. By commodity for the week ended May 13 in the PNW, wheat inspections totaled 416,000 tonnes, up 30% from the prior week; corn inspections totaled 647,000 tonnes, up 50% from the prior week, and soybean inspections totaled 11,000 tonnes, up 6% from the previous week.

Mississippi Gulf inspections increased 1% week over week to 1.303 million tonnes. Interior inspections for export were up 11% to 359,000 tonnes, Texas Gulf inspections declined 8% to 103,000 tonnes; Great Lakes exports declined 10% to 33,000 tonnes; and Atlantic region exports fell 46% week over week to 6,000 tonnes.

Year-to-date grain inspections for all regions totaled 58.898 million tonnes, up 39% from the same period in 2020.

Rail activity

US rail traffic in the week ended May 15 totaled 533,872 carloads and intermodal units, up 28% from the same week in 2020. Separately, total carloads were 242,806, up 32% from the same week a year earlier, while US weekly intermodal volume was 291,066 containers and trailers, up 26% year over year.

For the third time in 2021, each of the 10 US carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. The largest increase was motor vehicles and parts, up 335% over the same week in 2020. Grain carloads in the week totaled 25,473, up 23% over the same week a year earlier, bringing the 2021 cumulative total for the category to 483,968 for a weekly average of 25,472, a 24% increase compared with the first 19 weeks of 2020.

In the week ended May 15, Canadian railroads, including US operations of Canadian Pacific and CN, reported 78,290 carloads for the week, up 22%, and 77,499 intermodal units, up 16% compared with the same week in 2020. Cumulative Canadian rail traffic in 2021 totaled 2,883,730 carloads, containers and trailers, up 8% year over year. Grain carloads in the week totaled 10,066, up 18% year over year, bringing 2021 cumulative Canadian grain carloads to 198,261 for an average of 10,435 per week, up 28% from the same period last year.

In the same week, Mexican railroads, including US operations of GMXT, reported 20,431 carloads, up 28% from the same week in 2020, and 16,205 intermodal units, up 8%. Cumulative Mexican rail traffic in 2021 was 693,512 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 6% from the same period in 2020. Mexican grain carloads in the week totaled 1,651, down 39% from the same week a year earlier, bringing 2021 cumulative Mexican grain carloads to 35,674 for a weekly average of 1,878, down 16% from the same period a year earlier.

In the same week, North American rail volume on 12 reporting US, Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 341,527 carloads, up 29% compared with the same week in 2020, and 384,770 intermodal units, up 23% year over year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 726,297 carloads and intermodal units, up 26%, bringing the 2021 cumulative for the continent to 13,290,858 carloads and intermodal units, up 11% compared with the same period in 2020. North American grain carloads in the week totaled 37,190, up 16% from the same week a year earlier, bringing continental grain carloads for the year to 717,903, for a weekly average of 37,784, up 22% from the same period in 2020.

The average May shuttle secondary railcar bids/offers in the week ended May 13 were $121 per car below tariff, down $25 from the previous week but $23 higher compared with the same week a year earlier, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service said. There were no non-shuttle bids/offers this week.

Barge activity

Barge grain movements in the week ended May 15 totaled 870,175 tons, down 13% from the previous week but up 10% in comparison with the same period in 2020, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. In the same week, 535 grain barges moved down river, 98 fewer barges than in the previous week, the Corps and AMS said. There were 804 grain barges unloaded in New Orleans, 5% more than in the previous week.

Ocean freight activity

Thirty four oceangoing grain vessels were loaded in the Gulf in the week ended May 13, 17% more than during the same period last year. In the 10 days starting May 14, 55 vessels were expected to be loaded, a 15% increase over the same period last year. The rate on May 13 for shipping one tonne of grain from the US Gulf to Japan was $67, up 3% from the previous week. The rate from PNW to Japan was $39.50 per tonne, 4% higher than in the previous week.

Fuel prices

In the week ended May 17, the US average diesel fuel price increased 6.3¢ from the previous week to $3.249 per gallon, up 86.3¢ above the same week in 2020, according to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Service.

In dollars per gallon, the average on-highway diesel fuel price on May 17, followed by the change from the prior week and the change from the same week a year earlier:

East Coast total $3.228 +0.068 +0.737

New England $3.152 +0.037 +0.532

Central Atlantic $3.395 +0.059 +0.728

Lower Atlantic $3.130 +0.079 +0.785

Midwest $3.197 +0.067 +0.968

Gulf Coast $3.029 +0.061 +0.854

Rocky Mountain $3.361 +0.054 +1.023

West Coast $3.735 +0.043 +0.848

West Coast less California $3.383 +0.070 +0.840

California $4.029 +0.021 +0.858

Source: World Grain