# Drought and the Mighty Mississippi: USACE efforts to keep cargo flowing - CLN WorldWide

> Low water levels at Gatun Lake are restricting Panama Canal transits, and the Mississippi River is also in drought with barges at risk of grounding. US wheat exports have reached a 20-year low, and the Army Corps is dredging the river bottom.

- Date: 2024-01-26 · published 2024-01-26T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16573-drought-and-the-mighty-mississippi-usace-efforts-to-keep-cargo-flowing-cln
- Commodities: [Wheat (SRW)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WHEAT.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Reduced Mississippi barge capacity and weak wheat export flows push US grain freight costs higher and pressure US wheat export prices downward.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲
- WHEAT: bearish ▼
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WHEAT | 2020-01-30 | [Analyst Insight: Is it worth carrying old crop into the new marketing year? \| AHDB](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55121-analyst-insight-is-it-worth-carrying-old-crop-into-the-new-marketing-year-ahdb.md) | -0.0% | +3.2% |
| WHEAT | 2024-11-18 | [Freight rates for grain transportation from Ukraine are decreasing \| Ukrainian and World Shipping News - Ukrainian Shipping Magazine - Ukrainian and World Shipping News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16989-freight-rates-for-grain-transportation-from-ukraine-are-decreasing-ukrainian.md) | -0.6% | +0.3% |
| WHEAT | 2022-10-10 | [Mississippi River reopens to barge traffic after low water closures - U.S. Coast Guard \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16671-mississippi-river-reopens-to-barge-traffic-after-low-water-closures-u-s-coast.md) | -14.4% | -16.2% |
| WHEAT | 2024-02-26 | [26 Million Tons Of Cargo Exported Through Ukraine’s Black Sea Corridor » The Center for Transport Strategies](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14325-26-million-tons-of-cargo-exported-through-ukraine-s-black-sea-corridor-the.md) | -4.4% | -4.2% |
| WHEAT | 2024-07-27 | [60 million tons of cargo exported so far through Ukrainian maritime corridor](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14285-60-million-tons-of-cargo-exported-so-far-through-ukrainian-maritime-corridor.md) | -4.2% | -6.9% |
| CORN | 2024-10-17 | [Another Midwest Drought Is Causing Transit Headaches on the Mississippi River](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28038-another-midwest-drought-is-causing-transit-headaches-on-the-mississippi-river.md) | +2.1% | +2.9% |
| CORN | 2022-10-21 | [Low Water And Mississippi River Drafts - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16676-low-water-and-mississippi-river-drafts-the-waterways-journal.md) | -0.9% | -1.4% |
| CORN | 2022-09-28 | [Drought Pushes Mississippi River Grain Shipping Rate to a Record - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16680-drought-pushes-mississippi-river-grain-shipping-rate-to-a-record-bloomberg.md) | +1.9% | +4.4% |

## Sources

- clnusa.com: https://clnusa.com/drought-and-the-mighty-mississippi-usace-efforts-to-keep-cargo-flowing/

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