# Ocean Freight Rates Rise As Grain Movement Shifts - RFD-TV

> RFD-TV reports ocean freight rates for grain to Japan reached their highest in nearly four years, with Gulf-to-Japan at $72 per metric ton for the week ending May 14. Rail grain movement softened but stayed above last year, and barge movement improved but remained below last year. Diesel was $5.596 per gallon, $2.06 above last year.

- Date: 2026-05-24 · published 2026-05-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/19450-ocean-freight-rates-rise-as-grain-movement-shifts-rfd-tv
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Rising freight and diesel costs increase delivered costs for feed grains and push export logistics expenses higher, supporting basis and freight-linked prices.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DIESEL | 2026-08-04 | [Record Grain Movement Meets Rising Harvest Freight Costs - RFD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18086-record-grain-movement-meets-rising-harvest-freight-costs-rfd.md) | +5.6% | +11.0% |
| DIESEL | 2022-03-17 | [U.S. Grain Barge Freight Rates Skyrocket \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42461-u-s-grain-barge-freight-rates-skyrocket-feed-and-grain.md) | +32.3% | +20.2% |
| 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% |
| 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 | 2026-10-15 | [Grain Shipping Rates Surge 34% Year-Over-Year \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16757-grain-shipping-rates-surge-34-year-over-year-feed-and-grain.md) | +1.1% | — |

## Sources

- rfdtv.com: https://www.rfdtv.com/ocean-freight-rates-rise-as-grain-movement-shifts

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