USDA’s latest round of grain export inspection data, out Monday morning and covering the week through September 19, held mostly bullish data for traders to digest. Corn volume nearly doubled the prior week’s tally and jumped ahead of the entire range of analyst estimates. Wheat volume also exceeded all trade guesses. Soybean inspections were more muted but still found slight week-over-week improvements.

Corn export inspections moved noticeably higher after reaching 43.4 million bushels last week. That was also above the entire set of analyst estimates, which ranged between 18.7 million and 35.4 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are now trending slightly ahead of last year’s pace after reaching 84.4 million bushels since the start of September.

Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 18.5 million bushels. Colombia, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections moved modestly above the prior week’s volume after reaching 3.1 million bushels. That grain was bound for several destinations, including South Africa, Sudan, China, Mexico and Japan. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are running moderately below last year’s pace so far, with 5.9 million bushels.

Related:USDA exports – China buys soybeans, unknown buys corn, October 4, 2024

Soybean export inspections moved slightly higher week-over-week after reaching 17.8 million bushels. That was near the middle of analyst estimates, which ranged between 12.9 million and 23.9 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are trending slightly below last year’s pace so far after reaching 45.3 million bushels.

China was the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 6.3 million bushels. The Netherlands, Mexico, Spain and Japan filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections outpaced analyst expectations after rising to 26.1 million bushels last week. That was better than the entire set of trade guesses, which ranged between 14.7 million and 23.9 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are gaining ground over last year’s pace after reaching 282.4 million bushels.

Ecuador topped all destinations for U.S. wheat export inspections, with 3.2 million bushels. The Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan rounded out the top five.

Click here for more highlights from the latest USDA grain export inspection report, which covers the week through September 19.