Freight railroads are a critical link in the grain supply chain. Railroads transport grains like corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, rice and barley.
• In 2020, U.S. Class 1 Railroads moved nearly 1.5 million carloads of grain.
• Grain is shipped by railroads, trucks and barges. Railroads transport 25% of grain, trucks transport 61% of grain, and barges ship 14% of the total grain.
• Corn is the top grain shipped by rail. Corn accounts for 46% of the total rail grain carloads.
• One railcar of corn will feed 37,000 chickens for an entire lifetime. One railcar of wheat will make more than 250,000 loaves of bread!
