Posted on May, 26, 2025 at 05:54 pm
Landed costs for shipping nearly all US grain to Mexico via land and sea routes was lower year over year in the first quarter of 2025, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Grain Transportation Report (GTR).
The only exception was corn shipped by water, which saw an increase due to higher transportation costs and farm values.
For all other commodity/route combinations, landed costs fell because of lower transportation costs and/or lower farm values.
US grain is transported to Mexico either by cross-border land movements or by sea movements to Mexican ports for inland distribution. Landed costs include total transportation costs (truck, rail, ocean) and farm value.
For corn, landed cost by water was $237.75 per tonne in the first quarter of 2025, up from $228.45 in the same quarter a year earlier. By land, cost for corn was $243.87 in the first quarter of 2025, down from $246.03 a year ago.
For soybeans, landed cost by water was $439.10 per tonne in the most recent quarter, down from $508.10 a year ago. By land, cost was $435.19 per tonne, down from $510.70 in the first quarter of 2024.
Wheat landed cost by water was $260.58 per tonne in the first quarter, down from $280.75 a year ago. By land, wheat landed costs were $247.61, down from $267.70 a year ago.
Year to year, US exports to Mexico were down 8% for corn, down 16% for soybeans, and up 7% for wheat.
From fourth quarter 2024 to first quarter 2025, total landed costs by water and land routes for corn and soybeans increased and were mostly unchanged for wheat.
For waterborne corn and soybeans, higher landed costs reflected rising farm values that outweighed falling transportation costs, the GTR said. For land-route corn and soybeans, higher landed costs reflected increases in both farm values and transportation costs.
For all routes, the share of landed costs comprising transportation ranged from 14% to 27%.
In the first quarter of 2025, US exports destined to Mexico and their quarter-to-quarter changes were as follows: 5.64 million tonnes of corn (down 10%); 1.16 million tonnes of soybeans (down 31%); and 103,000 tonnes of wheat (up 14%).
Source: World Grain