U.S. Wheat Supply Chain System: Grain Handlers

By Michael Anderson, USW Assistant Director, USW West Coast Office Each day during harvest season in the Pacific Northwest, the road to mid-Columbia Grain Company in The Dalles, Ore., is backed up by large grain trucks loaded with recently harvested wheat. A sample is taken from each load, then graded and tested for protein before […]

Increasing U.S. Rail Costs Hurt the World’s Wheat Buyers

By Claire Hutchins, USW Market Analyst Railroad rates and charges paid by customers who ship wheat and other grains make up a large portion of basis and have a direct effect on the price overseas buyers pay for U.S. wheat. Unfortunately, the cost of shipping wheat by domestic rail has been increasing at a rapid […]

Drought and U.S. Rail Rates Prop Up U.S. Export Prices

By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst Since the beginning of the calendar year, export cash prices for hard red winter (HRW) wheat prices have rallied an average 73 cents at the Gulf across all protein levels. However, export cash prices are made up of two components — wheat futures and export basis. Most of the […]