UGPTI Provides Truck Cost Information to Aid Ag Processors and Elevators
As fuel prices and other costs continue to rise, truck transportation costs play an increasingly important role in crop marketing plans and decisions.
In collaboration with the USDA, the UGPTI provides some of the only data available in the nation on truck shipping costs for agricultural commodities. "Information on the cost of moving products by barge, rail and ocean are all available. But, there is no other cost information available on trucking," notes Tamara VanWechel, the UGPTI associate research fellow who tracks the costs.
Crop producers, elevators and grain and oilseed processors are the primary audiences for the information. They use the data to project costs and to evaluate their product transportation plans, VanWechel says. Other organizations such as the N.D. Wheat Commission and the USDA also rely on the data for their market analysis.
NDSU began tracking the truck costs for USDA late in 2003. The information is based on a brief quarterly survey administered to elevator managers and a few crop processors in 17 states. Right now, data is largely from the north central region of the United States, the nation's largest crop-producing region. "We are working to expand the data we receive from the Rocky Mountain, West Coast and south central regions of the country," VanWechel says.
The survey asks for short, intermediate and long-haul costs and asks shippers how easy it is to obtain truck shipping services. The survey also asks if respondents are doing more or less of their shipping by truck than the previous year.
"This is not an exact science, but it does provide an index of shipping costs and availability. That index allows us to identify trends and estimate how much truck shipping is going on in the industry," VanWechel says.
The truck cost information is integrated into the USDA's weekly Grain Transportation Report. The UGPTI also compiles futures and spot market prices for various regions; rail car availability and prices from major railroads and secondary markets; rail rates on major shipping corridors for wheat, corn and soybeans; and weekly ocean vessel activity for major grain loading ports. That data is all included in the weekly USDA report located at
www.ams.usda.gov/tmdtsb/grain/
Transportation Infrastructure's Role in Economic Development Studied
At the request of the North Dakota Legislature, UGPTI researchers are examining the relationship between investments in transportation infrastructure and economic development.
"In particular, we're looking at how those investments impact producers and manufacturers and their ability to market their products," says Denver Tolliver, UGPTI associate director and the researcher leading the effort.
The researchers are evaluating the impact of factors ranging from seasonal load limits on North Dakota highways to levels of air service across the state. They will also look at the economic benefits of railroad services in the state. Additionally, the researchers are examining whether it is feasible to identify and aid selected airports to assist in economic development.
"This is a very broad, far-ranging effort," Tolliver noted.
The work is being done in conjunction with the NDDOT because the effort meshes so closely with that department's strategic planning process. In testimony before the Legislature's Interim Economic Development Committee, the NDDOT testified "that transportation plays a key role in economic development, but historically has been the last issue addressed. The testimony indicated that transportation needs to be at the front end of economic development discussion."
UGPTI researchers will go before the Legislative Council in late June to report on the research.
