ABSTRACT
Transportation is an important and integral part of the marketing system for grain. Prices paid to farmers for corn, soybeans, or wheat frequently is determined by the price at a central market less the cost of transporting grain to that market. The St. Lawrence River-Great Lakes Seaway system permits ocean vessels to load grain at Great Lakes ports as far west as Duluth, on the western tip of Lake Superior—a distance of about 2,200 miles from open water at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Grain is transported almost exclusively in bulk in the United States. Grain for export moves from surplus producing areas to ports by those means of transportation that represent lowest cost to the shipper. Rail tariffs on grain and grain products provide the source of rate determinations for many shippers of grain and grain products. In cases of contract rates, carrier rate quotations are frequently stated as a percent of a specific tariff.
