USDA’s latest set of grain export inspection data, out Monday morning and covering the week through January 18, didn’t have a lot of bullish data for traders to digest. Wheat managed moderate week-over-week gains but are still noticeably below last year’s pace. Corn and soybean volume were both below the prior week’s volume, meantime.

Corn export shipments only reached 28.1 million bushels last week, versus the prior week’s tally of 37.3 million bushels. That was also on the lower end of trade estimates, which ranged between 25.6 million and 41.3 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are still trending moderately higher than last year’s pace so far, with 578.8 million bushels.

Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 18.4 million bushels. Japan, Colombia, Panama and El Salvador rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export sales tilted noticeably lower last week after only reaching 3.1 million bushels last week. China accounted for the bulk of that total, with Mexico accounting for the fractional remainder. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year remain substantially above last year’s pace after reaching 103.1 million bushels.

Soybean export inspections moved moderately lower week-over-week to 42.7 million bushels. That was toward the middle of analyst estimates, which ranged between 27.6 million and 53.3 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are falling increasingly behind last year’s pace after reaching 983.0 million bushels.

China was by far the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 29.4 million bushels. Italy, Portugal, Mexico and Spain filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections only made it to 11.6 million bushels last week. That was on the very low end of trade estimates, which ranged between 9.2 million and 20.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are still moderately lower than last year’s pace so far, with 394.0 million bushels.

China was the No. 1 destination for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 3.3 million bushels. Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia 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 January 18.