# Record Grain Movement Meets Rising Harvest Freight Costs - RFD

> USDA's Grain Transportation Report shows record year-to-date grain rail carloads, up 16% from last year. Rail fuel surcharges hit a record 61 cents per mile in July, and St. Louis barge rates reached $25.62 per ton. Gulf-to-Japan ocean freight climbed to $69.75 per metric ton.

- Date: 2026-08-04 · published 2026-08-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/18086-record-grain-movement-meets-rising-harvest-freight-costs-rfd
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md)

## Why it matters

Rising rail, barge and ocean freight costs reduce the net value of grain reaching producers and can widen basis discounts. Higher freight also raises delivered costs for importers.

## Read by commodity

- BARGE: bullish ▲
- DIESEL: bullish ▲
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DIESEL | 2026-05-24 | [Ocean Freight Rates Rise As Grain Movement Shifts - RFD-TV](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19450-ocean-freight-rates-rise-as-grain-movement-shifts-rfd-tv.md) | -10.0% | -18.4% |
| DIESEL | 2026-10-22 | [Record diesel costs push grain freight rates higher across all modes \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17227-record-diesel-costs-push-grain-freight-rates-higher-across-all-modes-feed-and.md) | -5.5% | — |
| DIESEL | 2026-03-30 | [Mississippi River Reopens As Freight Costs Begin Rising -](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16378-mississippi-river-reopens-as-freight-costs-begin-rising.md) | -4.2% | -12.2% |
| DIESEL | 2018-10-31 | [U.S. freight costs continue upward climb \| 2018-10-31  \| World Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62425-u-s-freight-costs-continue-upward-climb-2018-10-31-world-grain.md) | -3.2% | -18.8% |
| DIESEL | 2026-05-06 | [Freight Bottlenecks Reshape Grain and Fertilizer Shipping Routes - RFD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16855-freight-bottlenecks-reshape-grain-and-fertilizer-shipping-routes-rfd.md) | +2.7% | -5.5% |

## Sources

- rfdtv.com: https://www.rfdtv.com/record-grain-movement-meets-rising-harvest-freight-costs

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.