Daily Brent Crude Oil Spot Prices (FOB in dollars per barrel) from the Energy Information Administration

Monthly barge rates for downbound freight originate from 12 port locations along the Columbia-Snake River System to Portland OR or Vancouver WA. The 12 locations are as follows:
(1) Lewiston, ID; Clarkston WA; and Wilma, WA, on the Snake River
(2) Central Ferry, WA, and Almota, WA, on the Snake River
(3) Lyons Ferry, WA, on the Snake River
(4) Windust, WA, and Lower Monumental, WA, on the Snake River
(5) Sheffler, WA, on the Snake River
(6) Burbank, WA, Kennewick, WA, and Pasco, WA, on the Columbia River
(7) Port Kelly, WA, and Wallula, WA, on the Columbia River
(8) Umatilla, OR, on the Columbia River
(9) Boardman, OR, and Hogue Warner, OR, on the Columbia River
(10) Arlington, OR, and Roosevelt, WA, on the Columbia River
(11) Biggs, OR, on the Columbia River
(12) The Dalles, OR, on the Columbia River

A base rate is set for the year for each port, which runs from August 1 to July 31, in early summer. The port-to-port rates do change each month based on a fuel surcharge. To calculate the fuel surcharge, the spot price of No. 2 Low-Sulfur Diesel for Portland, OR, is recorded for every business day of the month and then averaged at the end of the month. Based on that average, the fuel surcharge rate is increased by a certain fraction of a percent over the base rate for each port location and is applied for the second following month. For example, the fuel surcharge for September would be based on July’s average spot price, and shippers would know the barge freight rate for September at the beginning of August.

Weekly barge rates (percent of tariff) for downbound grain freight originate from six locations along the Mississippi River System (MRS), which includes the Mississippi River and its tributaries (e.g., Upper Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ohio River, etc.).

The Mississippi River System uses a percent of tariff system to establish barge freight rates. The tariffs were originally from the Bulk Grain and Grain Products Freight Tariff No. 7, which were issued by the Waterways Freight Bureau (WFB) of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). In 1976, the U.S. Department of Justice entered into an agreement with ICC that made Tariff No. 7 no longer applicable. Today, WFB no longer exists, and ICC has become the Surface Transportation Board of the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, the barge industry continues to use the tariffs as
benchmarks as rate units.

Here are the six MRS locations where the percent of tariff is collected each week:
(1) Twin Cities, from Minneapolis, MN, to La Crosse, WI, on the Upper Mississippi River
(2) Mid-Mississippi, from Genoa, WI, to Winfield, MO, on the Upper Mississippi River
(3) Illinois River, from Chicago, IL, to Hardin, IL, on the Illinois River
(4) St. Louis, from Grafton, IL, to Cape Girardeau, MO, on the Upper Mississippi River
(5) Ohio River, from Silver Grove, KY, to Paducah, KY, on the Ohio River
(6) Cairo-Memphis, from Buffalo Island, MO, to Memphis, TN, on the Lower Mississippi River

Within these locations (except for Twin Cities), multiple benchmark rates apply, depending on the exact origin location and the distance to the Gulf. (Please see the Rate Data by Segment" Excel file below for specific locations.)

To calculate the rate in dollars per ton, multiply the percent of tariff rate by the benchmark rate.
A few examples:
(1) A 300-percent tariff for grain barge at Minneapolis, MN, would equal 3.00 times the benchmark rate of $6.19, or $18.57 per ton.
(2) A 250-percent tariff for a grain barge at Dubuque, IA, would equal 2.50 times the benchmark rate of $6.00 or $15 per ton.
(3) A 225-percent tariff for a grain barge at Peoria, IL, would be 2.25 times the benchmark rate of $4.84 or $10.83 per ton.
(4) A 215-percent tariff for a grain barge at St. Louis, MO, would be 2.15 times the benchmark rate of $3.99 or $8.58 per ton.
(5) A 200-percent tariff for a grain barge at Cincinnati, OH, would be 2.00 times the benchmark rate of $4.69, or $9.38 per ton.
(6) A 150-percent tariff for a grain barge at Hales Point, TN, would be 1.50 times the benchmark rate of $3.51, or $5.27 per ton.