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AG POLICY & MARKETS DAILY
MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2026 | SPECIAL REPORT & ANALYSIS
SPECIAL REPORT | FERTILIZER MARKETS
USDA Adds Ammonia Pipeline Rates to Fertilizer Dashboard
New data will sharpen regional fertilizer cost and supply analysis
Analysis · August 10, 2026
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has expanded its Fertilizer Transportation Dashboard (link) to include anhydrous ammonia pipeline rates, giving farmers, fertilizer dealers and market analysts a clearer view of the transportation costs embedded in nitrogen prices. The new data cover five origins and 25 destinations, primarily serving the Corn Belt.
WHY IT MATTERS
The addition addresses an important gap in fertilizer-market transparency. USDA’s dashboard already tracked fertilizer production, inventories, imports, regional prices and movements by rail and barge. But anhydrous ammonia is commonly moved from Gulf Coast production and import facilities into Midwestern distribution systems by pipeline, making pipeline charges an important component of the delivered cost that farmers ultimately face.
| Data series | What it shows | Status |
| Fertilizer production | Domestic output at the plant level | Existing |
| Inventories | Stocks held in the supply chain | Existing |
| Imports | Product entering from abroad | Existing |
| Regional prices | What buyers pay across regions | Existing |
| Rail movements & tariffs | Freight flows and published rail rates | Existing |
| Barge movements | Shipments on the inland waterway system | Existing |
| Ammonia pipeline rates | Transportation charges, 5 origins to 25 destinations | NEW |
Table 1. What the USDA Fertilizer Transportation Dashboard now tracks. Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.
WHAT THE NEW DATASET COVERS
The dataset includes three Louisiana origins, along with points in Arkansas and Iowa. USDA is highlighting rates from Donaldsonville, La., a major nitrogen-production hub; Taft, La., which provides access to imported ammonia; and Garner, Iowa, where Canadian ammonia can enter the regional system by rail. Together, those locations provide insight into the interaction among domestic production, imports and cross-border supplies.
Figure 1. The pipeline network in USDA’s new dataset — five origins (gold squares) and all 25 destinations (blue dots) on the 2,000-mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline, which originates in Louisiana and runs north through the Corn Belt. Source: USDA AMS Anhydrous Ammonia Pipeline Tariff Rates dataset (AgTransport).
| Coverage | Detail |
| Data added | Anhydrous ammonia pipeline (common carrier) tariff rates |
| Pipeline covered | Sunoco’s (formerly NuStar) 2,000-mile ammonia system, Louisiana north through the Corn Belt |
| Origins (5) | Donaldsonville, Taft and Waggaman, La.; El Dorado, Ark.; Garner, Iowa |
| Destinations (25) | Iowa (5), Indiana (5), Louisiana (5), Nebraska (3), Illinois (3), Missouri (3), Arkansas (1) |
| Highlighted origins | Donaldsonville, La. (nitrogen-production hub); Taft, La. (imported ammonia); Garner, Iowa (Canadian ammonia by rail) |
| Supply channels captured | Domestic Gulf Coast production, waterborne imports and cross-border Canadian supplies |
| Where published | USDA AMS Fertilizer Transportation Dashboard (AgTransport) Link |
Table 2. The new ammonia pipeline dataset at a glance. Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, AgTransport.
READING REGIONAL PRICE SPREADS
For fertilizer buyers, the most useful application may be explaining regional price differences. A change in the Gulf Coast ammonia price does not pass uniformly into Corn Belt markets. Pipeline tariffs, destination charges, terminal availability, local dealer inventories and competing rail or truck costs all influence the final price. The new data should make it easier to separate changes in the underlying fertilizer value from changes caused by transportation.
Figure 2. Why a Gulf Coast price change does not pass one-for-one into Corn Belt delivered cost. Source: Ag Policy & Markets Daily.
That visibility will be especially useful ahead of major fall and spring application periods. When fertilizer demand accelerates, pipeline and terminal capacity can become constrained even when national supplies appear adequate. Analysts will now have another tool to identify whether a widening regional price spread reflects a genuine product shortage or a transportation and distribution bottleneck.
The dashboard could also improve analysis of nitrogen-market competitiveness. Buyers can compare pipeline rates with published rail tariffs and other transportation indicators already collected by USDA. That may help cooperatives and commercial distributors evaluate alternative supply routes and determine when imported or Canadian-origin ammonia becomes competitive with Gulf Coast material.
LIMITS OF THE DATA
There are limits, however. Published pipeline rates are generally transportation benchmarks rather than a complete measure of the price paid by every shipper. Contract terms, volume commitments, storage, terminal handling, fuel adjustments and last-mile trucking can materially affect delivered costs. The initial network of five origins and 25 destinations also does not capture every fertilizer-producing or consuming region.
BOTTOM LINE
The broader significance is that USDA is building a more integrated picture of fertilizer supply chains. Combining pipeline, rail, barge, import, inventory and regional price data should make disruptions easier to diagnose and could support more informed policy decisions during periods of high fertilizer prices or transportation stress. It will not lower fertilizer costs by itself, but it should make the forces behind those costs more visible. For more information visit,AgTransport.
Sources: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service; USDA Fertilizer Transportation Dashboard and Anhydrous Ammonia Pipeline Tariff Rates datasets, AgTransport (agtransport.usda.gov).
AG POLICY & MARKETS DAILY | SPECIAL REPORT — MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2026
