Credit: ©KHUMTHONG - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
05.30.2025
By Susan Reidy
WASHINGTON, DC, US — Landed costs to ship US and Brazil soybeans to China and Europe decreased year over year in the first quarter of 2025, in part reflecting lower transportation costs and falling soybean farm values, according to the May 29 Grain Transportation Report (GTR) from the US Department of Agriculture.
Total landed costs include transportation (truck, rail, barge, ocean) and farm value. For US soybeans to China via the Pacific Northwest, landed costs year over year were down 14.4% to $456.01 (North Dakota) and down 14.2% to $469.50 (South Dakota). Via the Gulf, landed costs were down 13.7% to $485.63 (Minnesota) and down 13.8% to $477.12 (Iowa).
For Brazil soybeans to China, landed costs dropped 8.2% to $436.90 (Santos) and fell 7% to $412.81 (Paranagua).
Landed costs for US soybeans to Europe via the Gulf saw a year-over-year decrease of 13% to $463.59 (Minnesota) and 13.2% to $455.08 (Iowa). For Brazil soybeans to Europe, landed costs fell 8.2% to $434.80 (Santos) and dropped 7.1% to $408.91 (Paranagua).
In the United States, for shipments to China, the decreased landed costs reflected falling transportation costs and farm values, according to the GTR.
European shipments dropped mostly because of falling farm values.
In Brazil, landed cost decreases were mainly attributed to falling transportation costs and falling soybean farm values.
Quarter to quarter, landed costs rose for all US routes in the first quarter, with the exception of the PNW to China routes. For those routes, landed costs were almost unchanged.
For shipments out of the United States, landed-cost increases reflected rising transportation costs and farm values. In first quarter 2025, transportation’s share of US landed costs was 23% to 26% for shipments to China and 20% to 23% for shipments to Europe.
In Brazil, landed costs fell because of lower farm values. Transportation’s share of Brazil’s total landed costs was 21% to 27% for shipments to China and 21% to 27% for shipments to Europe.
The United States and Brazil are the world’s leading soybean producers. They compete for the same overseas markets, so low transportation and landed costs are key to staying competitive on the global market, the USDA said.