# Zhenhua Chen Publishes “Regional Supply-Chain Impacts of Mississippi River Fertilizer Shipments Disrupted by Climate Change” | Knowlton School

> A Risk Analysis paper by Zhenhua Chen and co-authors examines how low Mississippi River water levels, lock damage and import disruptions affected fertilizer and other supply chains. It reports that barge rates surged 400% during the 2022-2023 drought. The authors combined an empirical analysis with a general equilibrium model to estimate effects on the US and Upper Mississippi economies.

- Date: 2025-07-14 · published 2025-07-14T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16436-zhenhua-chen-publishes-regional-supply-chain-impacts-of-mississippi-river
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Low water raises barge freight costs and cuts loads, which widens basis and raises delivered fertilizer costs for Midwest buyers. Freight-driven costs tend to persist when river drought recurs.

## Read by commodity

- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Sources

- knowlton.osu.edu: https://knowlton.osu.edu/news/2025/07/zhenhua-chen-publishes-regional-supply-chain-impacts-mississippi-river-fertilizer-shipments-disrupted-climate-change

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.