NASHVILLE, TN – CHS Inc. will close its grain export terminal at the Port of Duluth-Superior by the end of August. Built in 1936, the terminal has 18 million bushels of storage and is served by BNSF and Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroads. It currently handles 60 to 70 percent of the port’s annual grain volume.
The closure marks a broader shift away from Great Lakes shipping. Once a major export point for Northern Plains wheat, Duluth-Superior’s grain shipments have dropped significantly—from 9.2 million metric tons in 1978 to just 645,000 tons in 2022. More grain now moves through deepwater ports like the Texas Gulf and the Pacific Northwest, which offer lower ocean freight rates.
The timing coincides with a new Surface Transportation Board decision allowing CPKC to move wheat from Northern Plains elevators to the Port of Houston, where CHS also operates a terminal. That regulatory change may further reduce the role of Duluth-Superior as a grain outlet.
(Source: USDA Grain Transportation Report, July 10, 2025)