Transportation Challenges May Increase Elevator Costs in 2019

(DENVER, CO) Transportation challenges may exist in 2019. That’s according to a new report from CoBank. With tariffs on U.S. soybean imports to China, the industry has found other markets outside Beijing. The new markets are forcing elevators to ship beans to St. Louis, where they are loaded on barges and shipped out of the Gulf. Though rail and barge prices are expected to remain neutral in the new year, CoBank expects the current shortage of truck drivers to pressure elevators and the trucking industry with higher labor costs in 2019.