# Gauging Pre-Harvest Freight Costs

> DTN analyst Elaine Kub reports that U.S. diesel and barge freight costs sit at the 30th percentile of their 10-year ranges, unit train car costs at the 24th, and ocean freight at the 28th. She notes roughly 14.2 billion bushels of corn and 4.4 billion of soybeans will move off fields over the next 10 weeks, on top of 1.7 billion bushels of wheat.

- Date: 2017-09-13 · published 2017-09-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/69129-gauging-pre-harvest-freight-costs
- 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), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Freight costs currently sit low versus history, so harvest logistics are not a near-term squeeze on basis, though tight capacity at peak harvest could still lift freight and widen basis bids.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: neutral
- CORN: neutral
- BARGE: neutral
- DIESEL: neutral
- OCEANFRT: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DIESEL | 2026-10-20 | [Diesel Prices: Up, Down, or Stuck? - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17230-diesel-prices-up-down-or-stuck-freightwaves.md) | -0.2% | — |
| DIESEL | 2024-06-21 | [Trafigura Charters Supertanker to Load Gasoil from Mideast](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29978-trafigura-charters-supertanker-to-load-gasoil-from-mideast.md) | +1.3% | -4.0% |
| DIESEL | 2021-03-31 | [Products: Fuel Moving Again After Suez Unblocked \| Energy Intelligence](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48279-products-fuel-moving-again-after-suez-unblocked-energy-intelligence.md) | +1.0% | +8.3% |
| DIESEL | 2026-10-29 | [UZ: to get priority, oil workers must form route trains \| Ukrainian and World Shipping News - Ukrainian Shipping Magazine - Ukrainian and World Shipping News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/2095-uz-to-get-priority-oil-workers-must-form-route-trains-ukrainian-and-world.md) | -2.4% | — |
| DIESEL | 2024-08-22 | [Canadian rail strike begins amid contract dispute, fears of U.S. shipping impact \| Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28830-canadian-rail-strike-begins-amid-contract-dispute-fears-of-u-s-shipping-impact.md) | -0.8% | -3.1% |
| CORN | 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) | -1.2% | — |
| CORN | 2025-10-07 | [US grain storage, logistics facing harvest complications \| World Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16910-us-grain-storage-logistics-facing-harvest-complications-world-grain.md) | -1.7% | +0.8% |
| CORN | 2020-10-02 | [Ocean Freight Rates Hit Lowest In Past 12 Weeks \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50831-ocean-freight-rates-hit-lowest-in-past-12-weeks-feed-and-grain.md) | -1.1% | +5.3% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2017/09/13/gauging-pre-harvest-freight-costs

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