For the week ending Oct. 29, total inspections of grain (corn, wheat, and soybeans) for export from all major U.S. export regions totaled 3.2 million metric tons (mmt). Total grain inspections were down 21% from the previous week, up 50% from last year, and up 19% from the 3-year average.
The drop in inspections was driven by a 28% decrease in wheat inspections, destined primarily to Latin America, and a 26% decrease in soybean inspections, destined mainly to Asia. Corn inspections, however, increased 6% from week to week.
Despite the week-to-week drop in grain inspections, inspections during the last 4 weeks were 56% above last year and 36 percent above the 3-year average. Grain inspections decreased 20% from the previous week in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and decreased 28% in the Mississippi Gulf. Year to year, total year to date inspections are up 9%.
For the week ending Oct. 22, unshipped balances of wheat, corn, and soybeans totaled 62.8 million metric tons (mmt). This surpassed last week’s previous record high for outstanding sales. Net corn export sales were 2.244 mmt, up 23% from the past week. Net soybean export sales were 1.621 mmt, down 27% from the previous week. Net weekly wheat export sales were 0.743 mmt, up significantly from the previous week.
Barge grain movements for the week ending Oct. 31 totaled 960,442 tons. This was 19% less than the previous week and 45% more than the same period last year. For the week ending October 31, 594 grain barges moved down river — 163 barges fewer than the previous week. There were 718 barges unloaded in New Orleans, 27% lower than the previous week.
