# Mississippi and Ohio Rivers Hit Rock Bottom in Fall 2022

> Low water on the Lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers began in late August and worsened through harvest, with Memphis reaching about minus 6.7 feet in late September. Grounded barges and reduced loads disrupted movement of the new-crop soybean export harvest to the Gulf. Fertilizer shipments were also affected, and river terminals faced basis problems.

- Date: 2022-12-22 · published 2022-12-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16668-mississippi-and-ohio-rivers-hit-rock-bottom-in-fall-2022
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md)

## Why it matters

Basis weakness at river terminals and higher barge costs cut prices farmers receive while raising delivered costs for export buyers. Fertilizer delays can also raise input costs for the next crop.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 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) | -3.2% | +12.9% |
| SOY | 2017-10-02 | [Mississippi River Shipping Backlog Hits Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68347-mississippi-river-shipping-backlog-hits-farmers.md) | +0.4% | +0.7% |
| SOY | 2017-04-07 | [Barge accidents shut parts of Mississippi, Ohio rivers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/71396-barge-accidents-shut-parts-of-mississippi-ohio-rivers.md) | +1.5% | +2.3% |
| SOY | 2023-08-28 | [Will It Be Deja Vu on the Lower Mississippi River This Fall?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/12855-will-it-be-deja-vu-on-the-lower-mississippi-river-this-fall.md) | -1.8% | -6.0% |
| SOY | 2025-08-27 | [The Mississippi River is Set to Fall to Severe Levels for the Fourth Year in a Row](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23510-the-mississippi-river-is-set-to-fall-to-severe-levels-for-the-fourth-year-in-a.md) | -1.2% | -1.9% |
| UREA | 2023-04-19 | [Barge operations to stop as Mississippi rises increasing costs to farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16636-barge-operations-to-stop-as-mississippi-rises-increasing-costs-to-farmers.md) | +2.3% | +6.8% |
| UREA | 2022-10-07 | [Grain Shippers Slowed by Mississippi River Drought Also Race Against Winter - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16674-grain-shippers-slowed-by-mississippi-river-drought-also-race-against-winter.md) | -1.2% | -13.5% |
| UREA | 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) | +3.6% | +3.9% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2022/12/22/mississippi-ohio-rivers-hit-rock

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