Cost of shipping US grain to Mexico falls

According to the USDA Grain Transportation Report (GTR), the cost of transporting nearly all U.S. grain to Mexico by land and sea fell year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025.

The only exception was waterborne corn, which saw its cost rise due to higher transportation costs and farmland values.

All other commodity and route combinations saw their cost fall due to lower transportation costs and/or lower farmland values.

U.S. grain is transported to Mexico either by land across the border or by sea to Mexican ports for onward transportation. Transportation costs include general transportation costs (truck, rail, ocean) and farmland values.

In the first quarter of 2025, the waterborne corn price was $237.75 per ton, up from $228.45 per ton in the same quarter a year earlier. The landborne corn price was $243.87 per ton in the first quarter of 2025, down from $246.03 per ton a year earlier.

In the most recent quarter, the waterborne soybean price was $439.10 per ton, down from $508.10 per ton a year earlier. The landborne price was $435.19 per ton, down from $510.70 per ton in the first quarter of 2024.

In the first quarter, the waterborne wheat price was $260.58 per ton, down from $280.75 a year earlier. Inland wheat was $247.61, down from $267.70 a year earlier.

Year-over-year, U.S. exports to Mexico were down 8% for corn, 16% for soybeans, and up 7% for wheat.

From the fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, total waterway and land transportation costs for corn and soybeans increased, while wheat transportation costs were virtually unchanged.

According to GTR, higher waterway corn and soybean production costs reflected rising farm costs that outweighed lower transportation costs. For land-based corn and soybeans, higher production costs reflected rising farm costs and higher transportation costs.

Across all routes, transportation costs as a share of production costs ranged from 14% to 27%.

In the first quarter of 2025, U.S. exports to Mexico and their changes from the previous quarter were as follows: 5.64 million tons of corn (down 10%); 1.16 million tons of soybeans (down 31%); 103,000 tons of wheat (up 14%).

Tags: corn, grain, USA, Mexico