The bin-to-ship price: what it is and how to read it
It starts from the price an elevator in your region offers this week. Then it adds the published cost of getting that grain onto a ship at the port:
- the country elevator's handling charge;
- rail freight to the port, less the $8 a tonne discount railways give for full trains (there is no discount to Churchill);
- the port terminal's handling charge.
So it answers one question: what does this week's farm price come to once the grain is on the ship?
What it is not
It is not the price grain is sold at to buyers overseas. That price, called FOB, is set in private deals. The difference between the export value and our number covers trading margins, financing, risk and any costs below the published charges. That difference is a trend to watch over months. One month on its own proves nothing.
How to read the chart
Each crop's chart has one panel per price region.
- Blue line: the price at Vancouver, using the maximum charges companies file. The number at the end of the line is this week's price.
- Shaded strip under it: the same price if the country elevator charges what the cheapest tenth of companies file. Real charges are often below the maximum.
- Dashed grey line: the same grain sent east by rail to Thunder Bay, then by lake ship and the St. Lawrence Seaway to Montreal.
- Orange dots: what exports were actually worth at the port each month, from Statistics Canada customs records. They arrive about five weeks after the month ends.
How to read the table
The table shows this week's price for every region to every port: Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Thunder Bay, Montreal (via Thunder Bay) and Churchill. The low-cost price is in brackets. A Manitoba farm can ship west or east, so both are shown.
The Vancouver terminal charge
The published Vancouver terminal charge is the average of the maximum charges the Vancouver terminals file. One terminal files $30 a tonne for every grain, well above the others, and that lifts the average. Each chart's notes say how much lower the average would be without it: about $3 to $5 a tonne, depending on the grain.
Which prices each crop uses
- Canola, CWRS wheat, durum and yellow peas: elevator bids in nine price regions across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
- Barley and oats: the weekly prices the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba agriculture departments publish.
- Lentils (small red) and chickpeas (kabuli 9 mm): Saskatchewan weekly prices. They use the pea handling charges. Many lentils and most chickpeas ship in containers, not bulk ships, so the port price is a reference point.
- Soybeans: Manitoba weekly prices, with the canola handling charges.
- Oats: no customs dots. Most Canadian oats go to the United States by rail or truck, so their customs value is a border value in a different market. The port price is a reference point.
Not included
Trucking from the farm, check-offs, cleaning, storage, port fees and ocean freight.
How often it changes
The prices are rebuilt every week with the new elevator bids. Rail rates are published monthly and late, so the latest month is used until the next one comes out; each chart says which month it uses. Elevator charges change once a crop year. Customs values come monthly.
Sources
PDQ (Price and Data Quotes) elevator cash bids; the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba agriculture departments' weekly crop prices; Quorum Corporation's Grain Monitoring Program tables and its June 2026 study of Western Canadian grain export costs; the Canadian Grain Commission's summaries of the elevator charges companies file; Statistics Canada's Canadian International Merchandise Trade data.
Each crop's weekly page shows its bin-to-ship chart and table under Evidence. Go to this week's crop pages.