# The Mississippi River is reaching historic highs and lows — forcing the shipping industry to adapt | NPR Illinois

> Southern Devall's river operations director describes near-historic low Mississippi levels for the second straight year, with drought across much of the basin. Low water is slowing shipping and raising costs for barge companies and grain elevators. The article also covers how shipping firms are adapting to both record highs and lows.

- Date: 2023-10-06 · published 2023-10-06T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16597-the-mississippi-river-is-reaching-historic-highs-and-lows-forcing-the-shipping
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Slower barge traffic and higher costs for grain elevators widen basis and raise freight expense for Midwest grain moving south. The disruption resembles 2022 and keeps freight costs elevated.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2023-09-28 | [Shipping Industry Grapples With How to Adapt to Changing Mississippi River Flows](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16606-shipping-industry-grapples-with-how-to-adapt-to-changing-mississippi-river-flows.md) | +1.1% | +1.7% |
| CORN | 2022-01-10 | [Misery for Shippers on Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio Rivers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/43328-misery-for-shippers-on-mississippi-illinois-ohio-rivers.md) | +1.3% | +3.3% |
| CORN | 2023-02-28 | [River Rebound: Is the Shipping Crisis on the Mississippi Ending? - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16650-river-rebound-is-the-shipping-crisis-on-the-mississippi-ending-agweb.md) | +0.9% | +0.2% |
| CORN | 2023-09-29 | [Mississippi River Near Historic Lows, Grain Exports at Risk](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16603-mississippi-river-near-historic-lows-grain-exports-at-risk.md) | +1.9% | +0.9% |
| CORN | 2024-10-16 | [As Harvest Ramps Up, the Lower Mississippi River Is Falling Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16504-as-harvest-ramps-up-the-lower-mississippi-river-is-falling-again.md) | +2.5% | +3.9% |

## Sources

- nprillinois.org: https://www.nprillinois.org/health-harvest/2023-10-06/the-mississippi-river-is-reaching-historic-highs-and-lows-forcing-the-shipping-industry-to-adapt

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