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Agricultural Transportation
 

The Transportation Services Division (TSD) serves as the expert source for economic analysis on agricultural transportation from farm to markets. As part of USDA, we inform, represent, and assist agricultural shippers and government policymakers through: market reports, regulatory representation, economic analysis, transportation disruption reports, technical assistance, outreach to stakeholders, responding to inquiries.

SPOTLIGHT ON:
Transportation of U.S. Grains: A Modal Share Analysis 1978-2011 Update

U.S. grain modal shares, 1978-2011

The most significant trend in a single mode of moving grain was the overwhelming increase in the volume of grain moved by trucks. In terms of percent of total movements, the truck share became the dominant mode in 1993; since then its share has been increasing over rail and barge. Since 1993, truck has been the primary transporter of grain, followed by rail and then barge.

The Transportation of U.S. Grains: A Modal Share Analysis 1978-2011 Update contains new 2011 data and minor revisions to previous years. This supplemental report provides the most recently available annual data as an update to the full publication, published in 2011. The purpose of this analysis is to examine trends in the type of transportation used to move grains grown for the food and feed industry, identifying changes in market share among modes.

The data show the long-run trends in rail, barge, and truck transportation of grain continued into 2011 with minor decreases in rail and barge volumes and a small increase in truck volume. However, the total tonnage hauled by all modes decreased by 3 percent year to year as 2011 grain and oilseed production fell from 2010. Total tonnages were down for both export and domestic movements year to year with two exceptions: export movements by truck increased 158 percent to 19.8 milllion tons and domestic movements by rail increased 1 percent to 84.6 million tons. The full report and data are available here.


What's New

U.S. Grain Transportation

Find analysis and information about market developments affecting rail, barge, truck, and ocean vessel movements of grain in these reports.


Transportation of Other Agricultural Products

International Transportation Analysis

Agricultural Transportation Research and Information Center

Find useful information and analysis on the transportation of agricultural products and the four major modes– trucking, railroads, barges, and ocean vessels– used to move food from farms to our tables and to ports for export to foreign markets. Find results of on-going research and analysis presented in issue papers and presentations, as well as additional resources available by mode and commodity.


Regulatory Representation

Find comments provided to various regulatory agencies by USDA and AMS, representing the interests of agricultural shippers under the authority of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, and International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act of 1982.


Data

Find datasets that are used in producing many of the Transportation Services Division’s publications. These datasets are now available in Excel format for the transportation of grain, biofuels, and other agricultural products.
 
  Last Modified Date: 05/15/2013
 
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