# Low water spurs Mississippi River restrictions | Latest Market News

> The US Coast Guard imposed draft and tow-width restrictions on the lower Mississippi River as water levels fell, limiting southbound barges to 11 to 11.5ft drafts and northbound barges to 10ft. Several gauges, including Tunica and Memphis, were below their low-water thresholds.

- Date: 2024-03-25 · published 2024-03-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16554-low-water-spurs-mississippi-river-restrictions-latest-market-news
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Draft limits force barge operators to use more fleets and trips to move the same volume, which raises southbound freight rates during harvest and can slow grain loadings at New Orleans.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2022-11-15 | [Low Mississippi River water levels drive up shipping costs - Marketplace](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38859-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-drive-up-shipping-costs-marketplace.md) | -0.3% | +2.6% |
| SOY | 2022-01-27 | [Low Mississippi River water levels impact river users](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16735-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-impact-river-users.md) | +7.3% | +15.4% |
| SOY | 2022-10-06 | [Barges grounded by low water halt Mississippi River traffic \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16678-barges-grounded-by-low-water-halt-mississippi-river-traffic-ap-news.md) | +1.9% | +5.1% |
| SOY | 2017-09-30 | [Low Water, Lock Repairs Send Mississippi River Freights Soaring](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68848-low-water-lock-repairs-send-mississippi-river-freights-soaring.md) | +0.4% | +0.7% |
| SOY | 2024-09-09 | [Mississippi River restricts barges as water levels drop - DredgeWire : DredgeWire](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16511-mississippi-river-restricts-barges-as-water-levels-drop-dredgewire-dredgewire.md) | -0.3% | +4.9% |

## Sources

- argusmedia.com: https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2602223-low-water-spurs-mississippi-river-restrictions
- argusmedia.com: https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2609141-uscg-updates-ongoing-lower-mississippi-restrictions

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