Basis reflects both local and global supply and demand forces. It is calculated as the difference between the local cash price and the futures price. It affects when and where many grain producers and shippers buy and sell grain. Many factors affect basis—such as local supplies, storage and transportation availability, and global demand—and they interact in complex ways. How changes in basis manifest in transportation is likewise complex and not always direct. For instance, an increase in current demand will drive cash prices up relative to future prices, and increase basis. At the same time, grain will enter the transportation system to fulfill that demand. However, grain supplies also affect basis, but will have the opposite effect on transportation. During harvest, the increase in the supply of grain pushes down cash prices relative to futures prices, and basis weakens, but the demand for transportation increases to move the supplies.

For more information on how basis is linked to transportation, see the story, "Grain Prices, Basis, and Transportation" (https://agtransport.usda.gov/stories/s/sjmk-tkh6), and links below for research on the topic.

This data has corn, soybean, and wheat basis for a variety of locations. These include origins—such as Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and many others—and destinations, such as the Pacific Northwest, Louisiana Gulf, Texas Gulf, and Atlantic Coast.

This is one of three companion datasets. The other two are grain prices (https://agtransport.usda.gov/d/g92w-8cn7) and grain price spreads (https://agtransport.usda.gov/d/an4w-mnp7). These datasets are separate, because the coverage lengths differ and missing values are removed (e.g., there needs to be a cash price and a futures price to have a basis price).

The cash price comes from the grain prices dataset and the futures price comes from the appropriate futures market, which is Chicago Board of Trade (CME Group) for corn, soybeans, and soft red winter wheat; Kansas City Board of Trade (CME Group) for hard red winter wheat; and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange for hard red spring wheat.

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