Grain Transportation Report, August 10, 2023

CPKC Petitions STB To Keep Use of UP Line for Moving Grain to GulfOn August 1, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) filed a petition (pdf) with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to prevent Union Pacific Railroad (UP) from blocking grain shipments to the ports of Houston and Galveston, TX (Houston/Galveston).The route involves a UP line that CPKC believes it has rights to use.In 1988, when UP acquired the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT), the Interstate Commerce Commission (STB's predecessor) granted trackage rights to the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS).The rights enabled KCS to move grain from Kansas City to the ports of Houston/Galveston by relying on a UP-owned line between Beaumont, TX, and the ports.The access rights were intended to preserve competition following the UP-MKT merger.According to CPKC, KCS used these rights "somewhat sporadically" over the last 35 years.However, the merger between the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CP) and KCS has renewed shippers' interest in single-line service from the Upper Midwest to Houston/Galveston.UP has until August 14 to reply to the petition.To allow shippers to plan for the upcoming fall harvest, CPKC is requesting that STB issue a decision no later than August 31. BNSF Completes Bridge Expansion Project at Key Bottleneck in IdahoLast weekend, BNSF Railway (BNSF) completed its Sandpoint Junction Connector Project in Sandpoint, ID.Located in Northern Idaho, Sandpoint is a key junction where BNSF's Northern Transcon line meets the Montana Rail Link line, north of Lake Pend Oreille.Built in 1904 to accommodate a single track, the original Sandpoint bridge crosses the lake and connects to a line leading to Spokane, WA.In recent years, when this single-track bridge had handled all the rail traffic over the lake, there had been a bottleneck, where trains waited to cross the bridge one at a time.After completing a second bridge over Lake Pend Oreille in late 2022, BNSF closed the original bridge for upgrades.With those upgrades now in place, both bridges are fully operational and able to run trains in both directions simultaneously.The Northern Transcon line is a key grain shipping route that connects grain producers in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana to export terminals in the Pacific Northwest. Castlen Enterprises Applies To Build and Operate New Barge TerminalOn August 4, Castlen Enterprises filed a permit application with the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build and operate a new barge terminal on the Ohio River near Mt.Vernon, IN.The proposed project would be located on the Ohio River at mile 830.5.The project would include the construction of a barge-unloading facility for transporting fertilizer.The facility would include a 195-foot by 35-foot work barge, a 140-foot by 35-foot work barge, an articulating conveyor, and an elevated belt line.The facility would have a maximum riverward projection of 125 feet from the normal pool elevation.USACE seeks public comments to evaluate the project's impacts until September 4. From 2016 to 2022, between 276,000 tons and 316,000 tons of fertilizer have moved through Mt.Vernon, IN.Diesel Price Rises for Third Straight Week For the week ending August 7, the U.S. average diesel fuel price rose 11.2 cents from the previous week to $4.239 per gallon, 75.4 cents below the same week last year.Over the last 3 consecutive weeks (since the week ending July 17), the U.S average diesel price has risen 43.3 cents.The last 3-consecutive-week rise in the average diesel fuel price-from October 3 to October 24, 2022-was 50.5 cents per gallon.According to the Energy Information Administration's August 8, Short Term Energy Outlook, from third to fourth quarter 2023, the average diesel price is projected to rise 25 cents, to $4.30 per gallon.U.S. diesel prices are projected to average $4.17 per gallon in 2023 and $3.94 per gallon in 2024, up 21 cents and 10 cents, respectively, from EIA's July forecast, but down from the 2022 average price of $5.02 per gallon.Snapshots by Sector Export Sales For the week ending July 27, unshipped balances of wheat, corn, and soybeans for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 totaled 8.90 million metric tons (mmt), down 9 percent from last week and down 43 percent from the same time last year.Net corn export sales for MY 2022/23 were 0.108 mmt, down 66 percent from last week.Net soybean export sales were 0.091 mmt, down 54 percent from last week.Net weekly wheat export sales for MY 2023/24, were 0.421 mmt, up 81 percent from last week.Rail U.S. Class I railroads originated 15,032 grain carloads during the week ending July 29.This is unchanged from the previous week, 27 percent less than last year, and 23 percent lower than the 3-year average.Average August shuttle secondary railcar bids/offers (per car) were $208 below tariff for the week ending August 3.This was $108 less than last week and $355 lower than this week last year.Average non-shuttle secondary railcar bids/offers per car were $194 above tariff.This was $94 more than last week and $6 more than this week last year.Barge For the week ending August 5, barged grain movements totaled 328,400 tons.This was 27 percent less than the previous week and 56 percent less than the same period last year.For the week ending August 5, 205 grain barges moved down river-75 fewer than last week.There were 497 grain barges unloaded in the New Orleans region, 11 percent more than last week. OceanFor the week ending August 3, 24 oceangoing grain vessels were loaded in the Gulf-25 percent fewer than the same period last year.Within the next 10 days (starting August 4), 21 vessels were expected to be loaded-34 percent fewer than the same period last year.As of August 3, the rate for shipping a metric ton (mt) of grain from the U.S. Gulf to Japan was $46.50.This was 3 percent more than the previous week.The rate from the Pacific Northwest to Japan was $26.00 per mt, 4 percent more than the previous week.

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