Estimates of total fuel consumption in transporting grain from Iowa to major grain-importing countries by alternative modes and routes

Abstract

<p>Previous fuel consumption studies for rail, truck, and barge freight transport are based on industry averages over all commodities. The conflicting results from these studies are of limited usefulness in predicting total fuel consumption and fuel costs for individual grain shipments. This study measured fuel consumption in transporting grain from Iowa origins to Japan and Amsterdam by alternative routes and modes of transport and applied these data to construct equations for fuel consumption from Iowa origins to alternative final destinations.</p>