USDA AgTransport · weekly · regional basis vs its own normal

Your elevator didn’t cut your basis. The river did.

Everyone stares at the futures board; the check you actually cash is futures plus basis — and basis is mostly a freight story. Below: every USDA-tracked region’s basis against its own 5-year average for this same week, next to the barge rates and origin-to-Gulf spreads that move it. When the number under your region turns red, this page shows you why — and it usually isn’t your elevator.

Regional basis vs 5-year same-week normalloading…

Weekly regional elevator-bid basis for corn, soybeans, and wheat vs each region’s own 5-year same-week average, from USDA AgTransport (weekly since 2007), beside Mississippi-system barge rates and origin-to-Gulf shipping spreads. Data updates every Friday.

Loading USDA data…

Negative delta = weaker than this region’s normal for this week. These are USDA-tracked regional markets — your specific elevator sits some local spread away from its region, but it moves with it.

The river, right now — barge rates vs normal

Rates are percent of the 1976 benchmark tariff — the industry’s odd but standard yardstick. The grey tick is each location’s 5-year same-week average; the gold bar is now. Bars far past their ticks are freight eating your basis.

A bushel’s journey — where the money goes

What this is — and is not. Regional attribution only: USDA tracks named markets and origins, not individual elevators, so this page explains the regional move your bid rides on. It will never claim to know your specific elevator’s spread. Basis in $/bu against futures; a negative number is normal in most regions most of the time — the delta against normal is the story.
Questions people actually ask
Why is my basis so wide right now?

Check two rows on this page: your region’s delta, and the barge bars. When freight runs above normal, interior bids must fall against the futures to pay the trip to the export market. Local demand (a plant nearby, a shuttle loader bidding) moves the rest.

Is my elevator ripping me off?

Compare your bid’s basis to your region’s number above. If your elevator is a nickel behind the region, that’s a local conversation. If the whole region is a dollar under its normal — as happens in high-freight years — no elevator in the county could bid it away.

When does basis usually strengthen?

Each region has its own seasonal shape — which is exactly why this page compares each region to its own same-week history instead of quoting a national rule. Post-harvest logistics unclogging and processor demand windows are common strengtheners, but check your region’s own pattern.

Where do these numbers come from?

USDA AgTransport open datasets: weekly regional grain basis (since 2007), barge freight rates, and origin-to-destination bid spreads. Updated here every Friday; sources linked below.

Source

USDA Agricultural Transportation Open Data (agtransport.usda.gov): grain basis (v85y-3hep, weekly since 2007), barge rates (deqi-uken), grain price spreads (an4w-mnp7), transport cost indicators (8uye-ieij). Refreshed on AGSIST every Friday; series and 5-year same-week averages computed by scripts/fetch_transport.py in the AGSIST repository. Related: local cash bids · county cash rent.