Locational shifts in US export grain demand and their effect on the export marketing system

A cost-minimizing spatial model of the US grain marketing system is used to evaluate impacts of locational changes in the demand for US grain exports. The major grain exports are included in the analysis. Total supply and demand are held at representative levels as the location of export demand is incrementally reallocated. Analysis focuses on how major US port area grain flows are altered to accommodate each alternative demand scenario. Additional analysis is conducted to determine if existing port capacities are sufficient to handle increased grain flows associated with the export demand reallocations.