# Flooding Impacts Upper Mississippi Barge Traffic, as “Corn Hit its Lowest in Nine Months” | Farm Policy News | Illinois

> USDA's Grain Transportation Report said American Commercial Barge Line had no boats above St. Louis on April 24 due to flooding, with locks above Lock 17 closed for about three weeks. Barge freight rates are below normal due to flooding and slow export sales, and closures could extend to Lock 22 around May 5.

- Date: 2023-04-28 · published 2023-04-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16638-flooding-impacts-upper-mississippi-barge-traffic-as-corn-hit-its-lowest-in-nine
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md)

## Why it matters

Closures halt grain and fertilizer movement on the upper river, and below-normal barge rates signal weak river demand, weighing on Midwest cash grain values while raising delivered fertilizer costs.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- CORN: bearish ▼
- UREA: bullish ▲
- BARGE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2022-09-29 | [Low water on the Mississippi River impacting barge traffic \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16679-low-water-on-the-mississippi-river-impacting-barge-traffic-ap-news.md) | +1.7% | +4.0% |
| CORN | 2023-05-01 | [Flood Waters Continue to Stop Barge Traffic on Upper Mississippi](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36107-flood-waters-continue-to-stop-barge-traffic-on-upper-mississippi.md) | +0.3% | -1.8% |
| CORN | 2023-04-27 | [Flooding on Upper Mississippi River to halt barge traffic for weeks, USDA says](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16633-flooding-on-upper-mississippi-river-to-halt-barge-traffic-for-weeks-usda-says.md) | -0.9% | -4.0% |
| CORN | 2023-04-28 | [Barge traffic stopped on upper Mississippi \| wqad.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36575-barge-traffic-stopped-on-upper-mississippi-wqad-com.md) | +0.5% | -2.3% |
| CORN | 2018-03-02 | [Flood waters impacting barge traffic - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65887-flood-waters-impacting-barge-traffic-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +1.2% | +3.0% |
| SOY | 2023-05-01 | [Flood Waters Continue to Stop Barge Traffic on Upper Mississippi](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36107-flood-waters-continue-to-stop-barge-traffic-on-upper-mississippi.md) | +1.7% | -7.4% |
| SOY | 2023-04-27 | [Flooding on Upper Mississippi River to halt barge traffic for weeks, USDA says](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16633-flooding-on-upper-mississippi-river-to-halt-barge-traffic-for-weeks-usda-says.md) | +0.8% | -7.8% |
| SOY | 2023-04-28 | [Barge traffic stopped on upper Mississippi \| wqad.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36575-barge-traffic-stopped-on-upper-mississippi-wqad-com.md) | +1.5% | -7.2% |

## Sources

- farmpolicynews.illinois.edu: https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2023/04/flooding-impacts-upper-mississippi-barge-traffic-as-corn-hit-its-lowest-in-nine-months/

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