What it costs to move a ton of grain down the river this week
Rates are spot quotes for downbound barge freight to the Gulf, reported weekly by USDA. Upper Mississippi reaches close in winter, so gaps there are normal.
This year against the seasonal pattern
Barge rates typically climb into harvest and peak in the fall.
Grain moving through the locks
Weekly downbound grain tonnage at the last lock on each major tributary.
How these numbers are built
Barge freight on the inland waterways is quoted as a percent of the 1976 Waterways Freight Bureau tariff. Each origin has its own benchmark, so a 300% rate at Twin Cities costs more than a 300% rate at St. Louis. This page converts every quote to dollars per ton: percent of tariff ÷ 100 × the origin's benchmark.
The seasonal average uses the five prior calendar years, matched by ISO week. Lock tonnage sums all grains reported for each lock and week.
Sources: USDA AMS downbound grain barge rates and weekly downbound grain barge movements.