NASHVILLE, TN – BNSF Railway is adjusting corn rail tariff rates for the 2025/26 marketing year, cutting rates to Hereford, Texas, while keeping rates to Pacific Northwest (PNW) export terminals unchanged. The changes affect BNSF’s shuttle program, which moves 110–120 car trains of grain under contract. Corn has been the top rail-hauled grain commodity, and BNSF leads in carloads.
For most elevators on BNSF’s network, rates to Hereford will decline. For example, the rate from St. Joseph, Missouri, will fall by $600 per car, a drop of about 15 cents per bushel. In contrast, PNW rates will remain flat. The resulting “PNW-Hereford tariff spread” is a key metric guiding corn flows. Elevators in South Dakota and Minnesota may now favor PNW, while those in Iowa and Nebraska may favor Hereford.
Corn delivered prices will ultimately influence flows more than tariffs alone. USDA projects a record 15.7 billion bushels of U.S. corn production in 2025/26. With large acreage increases in the Dakotas, corn from those states may flow west to the PNW. The new rates take effect in October and reflect growing efforts to optimize rail efficiency.