Barge grain movements totaled 564,835 tons, a 13-percent increase from the previous week and 36% more than the same period last year. For the week ending Sept. 28, 355 grain barges moved down river. This is 28 more barges than the previous week. There were 681 grain barges unloaded in New Orleans, 8% more than the previous week.

Ocean-going grain vessels for the week ending Sept. 26, 29 ocean-going grain vessels were loaded in the Gulf of Mexico. This is 9% fewer than the same period last year. Thirty-nine vessels are expected to be loaded by Oct. 6. This is 38% fewer than the same period last year.

For the week ending Sept. 26, total inspections of grain (corn, wheat, and soybeans) for export from all major U.S. export regions reached 1.9 million metric tons (mmt). Inspections are up 11% from the previous week, down 22% from last year, and 26% below the 3-year average.

Corn inspections, which jumped 70% from the previous week, drove the increase in total inspections of grain. U.S. exports of corn to Asia and Latin America rebounded 378% and 55%, respectively, from the previous week. Soybean inspections increased 6% from week to week, but inspections of wheat decreased 5%. Grain inspections in the Mississippi Gulf increased 21% from the past week, but Pacific Northwest (PNW) inspections decreased 15%.