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Record low Mississippi River water in October 2022 and again in October 2023 left barges stranded and forced lighter loads, shorter tows and one-way traffic. About 2,000 barges were backed up at the 2022 low, and round trips on the Lower Mississippi took nearly twice as long.
Barge rates rose more than 400% above average during the disruptions.
Low water raised barge freight costs and reduced capacity for both fertilizer moving upriver and grain moving downriver. Higher freight widens the basis for interior grain and feed ingredients relative to Gulf prices.
ccicada.orgWebMasterMay 2, 2024Not enough comparable past events yet for a historical read.
Moves of each commodity's benchmark from the last close before the event. Historical reads pool past events of the same kind; they describe what happened, not what will. Not investment advice.
