Mississippi River barges lines up at Port of Rosedale, Mississippi ©Debra L Ferguson
USDA and DOT Release Supply Chain Studies
On February 24, the 1-year anniversary of President Biden’s executive order on “America’s Supply Chains,” USDA, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and other Federal agencies released supply chain assessments across multiple sectors.
USDA’s report outlines the risks and resilience of U.S. agri-food supply chains. It also identifies potential solutions to address vulnerabilities, including actions at the Federal level that can be taken to address transportation bottlenecks, across all modes.
USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum: Content Available Online and First MY 2022/23 Projections
Last week, USDA held its 98th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum (Forum), themed “New Paths to Sustainability and Productivity Growth.” This year’s Forum featured a keynote address by the USDA Secretary, a presentation on the 2022 agricultural economy by USDA’s Chief Economist, and 30 breakout sessions—including one on the “Effects of Shipping Disruptions on U.S. Agriculture.”
All sessions were recorded and can be viewed by the public, at no cost, by registering on the Forum’s USDA webpage. At the Forum, USDA also released its first projections for the upcoming marketing year (MY) 2022/23. (The next update will occur with USDA’s May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.)
In MY 2022/23, USDA expects production of corn, soybeans, and wheat to increase 2 percent over the previous year, with exports and domestic use each to increase 1 percent, boosting the demand for grain transportation.
Panama Canal Posts Out-of-Service Notice for March 7
On March 7, the west lane of the Panama Canal’s Gatum Panamax Locks will be out of service for 4 hours for scheduled maintenance work. During the outage, the locks’ daily estimated transit capacity will be 30-32 vessels, down from their normal capacity of 34-36 vessels.
No major delays are anticipated for now. The locks’ exact transit capacity depends on vessel mix, transit restrictions, and other factors. The Panama Canal is a vital outlet for U.S. grain destined to Asia.
NGFA Spotlights Transportation for Annual Convention
Under the theme “Adapting, Advocating and Advancing,” the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) will hold its 126th annual convention from March 13 to 15, in Charleston, SC. NGFA members and leaders of the grain and feed industry will gather to explore the most salient issues in the year ahead, including “immediate challenges in the agricultural supply chain.”
To fully address the urgency of supply chain issues, the convention includes a Transportation and Technology Open Forum on March 13, featuring experts on rail, transloading, ports, and ocean freight.
Snapshots by Sector
Export Sales
For the week ending February 17, unshipped balances of wheat, corn, and soybeans for marketing year 2021/22 totaled 36.8 million metric tons (mmt), down 26 percent from the same time last year and down 2 percent from the previous week.
Net corn export sales were 1.041 mmt, up 27 percent from the previous week. Net soybean export sales were 1.233 mmt, down 6 percent from the previous week. Net weekly wheat export sales were 0.517 mmt, up significantly from the previous week.
Rail
U.S. Class I railroads originated 25,017 grain carloads during the week ending February 19. This was a 3-percent increase from the previous week, 33 percent more than last year, and 27 percent more than the 3-year average.
Average March shuttle secondary railcar bids/offers (per car) were $150 above tariff for the week ending February 24. This was $129 more than last week and $150 more than this week last year. There were no non-shuttle bids/offers this week.
Barge
For the week ending February 26, barged grain movements totaled 533,744 tons. This was 1.2 percent lower than the previous week and 22 percent higher than the same period last year.
For the week ending February 26, 330 grain barges moved down river—35 fewer barges than the previous week. There were 732 grain barges unloaded in the New Orleans Region, 1 percent fewer than last week.
Ocean
For the week ending February 24, 26 oceangoing grain vessels were loaded in the Gulf—37 percent fewer than the same period last year. Within the next 10 days (starting February 25), 43 vessels were expected to be loaded—35 percent fewer than the same period last year.
As of February 24, the rate for shipping a metric ton (mt) of grain from the U.S. Gulf to Japan was $68.50. This was 4 percent more than the previous week. The rate from the Pacific Northwest to Japan was $38.25 per mt, 6 percent more than the previous week.
Fuel
For the week ending February 28, the U.S. average diesel fuel price increased 4.9 cents from the previous week to $4.104 per gallon, 103.2 cents above the same week last year. At $3.968 per gallon, the average Midwest diesel price increased 49.1 cents in the past 8 weeks.
