Weekly U.S. Rail Loadings Down

WASHINGTON - Jan 19/06 - SNS -- The number of carloads of grains and oilseeds delivered to U.S. ports for the week ending January 11 dropped, according to the USDA's Transportation and Marketing Programs/Transportation Services Branch weekly Grain Transportation Report.

Total carloads delivered to major port areas during the week totalled 7,797, down from 8,258 the previous week. This lifted calendar year to date deliveries to 16,055 cars, down 3% from the 16,550 cars unloaded during the same period last year.

In releasing its latest transportation update, the USDA said, "Higher transportation costs may have caused corn and soybean export sales to be lower than expected. Transportation costs last fall rose sharply due to the summer drought, devastating hurricanes, and high fuel prices. Current transportation needs for U.S. corn and soybean exports are significantly below the same period last year due to lagging sales.

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