Mexico Transport Cost Indicator Report, April 2026

Mexico is the largest importer of U.S. grain (corn, soybeans, and wheat).Based on the past 3-year average, Mexico is the leading importer of U.S. corn and the second largest importer of U.S. wheat and soybeans.Grain can be transported to Mexico by land or shipped by water to an appropriate port for inland distribution.In this report, we examine the costs of transporting U.S. grain to Mexico by land and water and track how those costs change from third quarter to fourth quarter 2019 (quarter to quarter) and from fourth quarter 2018 to fourth quarter 2019 (year to year).Transportation costs: Quarter to quarter, the transportation costs of shipping grain to Mexico by water declined, while the costs of shipping by land remained steady (see March 5, 2020, Grain Transportation Report (GTR)).The decline in waterborne shipping costs resulted partly from the drop in ocean freight rates for bulk commodities, including grain.Ocean freight rates dropped in response to weak trade of iron ore and coal (see January 16, 2020 GTR).Lower barge and ocean freight rates pushed down the transportation costs of waterborne corn and soybeans.Lower truck and ocean freight rates pushed down the transportation cost of shipping wheat by water.The transportation costs of shipping corn and soybeans to Mexico by land remained relatively unchanged from quarter to quarter, while the costs of shipping corn by land fell by less than 1 percent.Tariff rail rates remained fairly steady during the quarter.Restoration of barge service.Quarter to quarter, the decline in barge rates likely resulted from a higher-than-average empty barge supply in the Mississippi River System in the fourth quarter.More grain barges were unloaded in New Orleans in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter.This pattern, in turn, sent 258 more empty barges (4 percent) returning upriver in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter.In addition, the navigational difficulties that had plagued the river through most of the summer cleared up by the fourth quarter, making travel easier.A lower risk of delays made carriers more willing to sell their services, as there was less ContaCt InformatIon