# Grain Shippers Slowed by Mississippi River Drought Also Race Against Winter - Bloomberg

> Near-historic low Mississippi River levels forced barge companies to stop taking immediate-delivery orders for metals, agricultural products and fertilizers. Some shippers are paying premiums to move goods by rail or truck instead.

- Date: 2022-10-07 · published 2022-10-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16674-grain-shippers-slowed-by-mississippi-river-drought-also-race-against-winter
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md), [DAP](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DAP.md)

## Why it matters

Shifting grain and fertilizer to costlier rail or truck lifts logistics costs, widening the spread between interior and Gulf prices and raising fertilizer delivery costs for farmers.

## Read by commodity

- DAP: bullish ▲
- UREA: bullish ▲
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DAP | 2022-10-16 | 1 | +2.4% | 3.8 | Low Mississippi River levels halted immediate-delivery barge orders for fertilizers, constraining US Gulf logistics and plausibly lifting DAP prices through tighter physical supply. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UREA | 2022-12-22 | [Mississippi and Ohio Rivers Hit Rock Bottom in Fall 2022](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16668-mississippi-and-ohio-rivers-hit-rock-bottom-in-fall-2022.md) | -1.7% | -11.8% |
| 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% |
| 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 | 2021-09-01 | [More Grain Terminals Found Damaged By Ida, Exports May Stall for Weeks - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5163-more-grain-terminals-found-damaged-by-ida-exports-may-stall-for-weeks-agweb.md) | +10.9% | +15.1% |
| UREA | 2025-09-26 | [With low water levels on the Mississippi River persisting for the fourth consecutive year, the Memphis District Corps of Engineers held a press conference today to review current river conditions and operations … \| Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16429-with-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-persisting-for-the-fourth.md) | -3.5% | -4.8% |
| DAP | 2024-01-18 | [Global shipping delays will affect fertilizer prices - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/32437-global-shipping-delays-will-affect-fertilizer-prices-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +0.8% | -1.3% |
| DAP | 2026-09-14 | [Fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain near zero](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17416-fertilizer-shipments-through-the-strait-of-hormuz-remain-near-zero.md) | +0.3% | +0.3% |
| DAP | 2024-01-30 | [The Red Sea crisis: Imported fertilisers paint mixed price picture \| Agriculture - Business Standard](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11963-the-red-sea-crisis-imported-fertilisers-paint-mixed-price-picture-agriculture.md) | -1.7% | -1.3% |

## Sources

- bloomberg.com: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-07/grain-shippers-slowed-by-mississippi-river-snag-also-race-winter

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