Brazil Soybean Transportation: Transportation Cost Index Increased 21 Percent in 2007

摘要

The Brazilian soybean export transportation cost index increased 21 percent in 2007. The cost of shipping a metric ton (mt) of soybeans 100 miles by truck increased from $6.96 in 2006 to $8.44 in 2007. Truck rates were pushed up by increased fuel costs; the appreciation of the real against the U.S. dollar; increased exports to China and the European Union; increased transportation demand for corn, soybeans, and rice; and an increase in the risk of carrying a higher value cargo caused by the rise in soybean prices. Total 2007 Brazilian soybean transportation costs to Hamburg, Germany, and Shanghai, China, increased 3254 percent in Mato Grosso (MT), Parana (PR), Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and South Goias (GO) from a year earlier.