GREAT FALLS, MT (May 13, 2015) ‐‐ The BNSF has published their anticipated wheat freight rate increases effective 05‐01‐15.
For the Montana to Pacific Northwest (PNW) freight rates for shuttle operations, which are 110‐120 cars, the BNSF is raising its rates from $202 ‐ $300/car. This rate increase translates into 6¢ to 8¢/bushel on 286,000 pound cars. Be mindful that the fuel surcharge is being ‘folded’ into the rates. The BNSF is also raising the less‐than‐shuttle rates by $209 ‐ $544/car or 6¢ to 16¢/bushel (for 48 car rates) and by $366 ‐ $600/car or 9¢ to 18¢/bushel (single car rates).
“MFU believes that most troubling for Montana farm producers will be the ever‐increasing differential
expansion between shuttles and less‐than‐shuttles,” said MFU President Alan Merrill. In short, the
shuttle rates are increasing less than the non‐shuttle rates, thereby widening the gap between the
non‐shuttle rates and the shuttle rates.
the past decade.
“This phenomenon disturbs us,” said Merrill, “mainly because of the crops that rely on the less‐than shuttle movements to gain access to market.” Most of the Montana rotational crops such as pulse, durum wheat, and white wheat rely on movement in less‐than‐shuttle lots. “These are important crops in our state, providing rapidly increasing revenue to the farm producers of Montana,” said Merrill. “In fact, Montana became the U.S. Number 1 pulse producing state last year,” he said.
Remember, the shuttle facilities in Montana do not normally handle pulse movements in these less-than‐shuttle quantities, although a couple shuttle quantity movements of pulse crops have occurred from Montana in the last year.
[EasyDNNGallery|1872|Width|550|Height|550|position||resizecrop|False|lightbox|False|title|False|description|False|redirection|False|LinkText||]
The tables above show the impact of the widening differentials between single car and shuttle car
movements at three locations in Montana. Grove is a facility located near Moccasin/Moore in central
Montana. These widening differentials put economic pressure on the ability of Montana smaller
elevators to participate in Montana farm production commerce, which in turn does potential economic
damage to Montana farm producers.
[EasyDNNGallery|1871|Width|550|Height|550|position||resizecrop|False|lightbox|False|title|False|description|False|redirection|False|LinkText||]
“Source: Whiteside & Associates, Billings, MT”
“MFU works for all Montana agricultural producers in the state,” said Merrill. “The BNSF rate actions
of increasing the ‘differential creep’ continue to penalize the farm producers that are raising these
important Montana crop alternatives.”
Source: Montana Farmers Union
