fertilizer carloads“The total number of fertilizer carloads originated by Class I railroads for the week ended May 6, 2023, was 6,550 -- an all-time high since the Surface Transportation Board (STB) began collecting the data in March of 2017, according to the May 18 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
For the first 12 weeks of 2023, fertilizer carloads were 2% fewer than the prior five-year average. However, in the weeks since then (weeks 13 through 19), fertilizer carloads have risen, and are now 3% above the five-year average.
"The rise in fertilizer carloads comes amid lower fertilizer prices from last year, higher corn plantings than last year and restricted upbound barge traffic on the Mississippi River due to flooding," the report said.”