# Louisiana Leaders Celebrate Deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel | Air Freight News

> Louisiana officials and the Big River Coalition marked the completion of the first two phases of deepening the Mississippi River Ship Channel to 50 feet. The deeper draft is currently available to the Huey P. Long Bridge, with further work needed farther upriver.

- Date: 2022-08-19 · published 2022-08-19T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16691-louisiana-leaders-celebrate-deepening-of-the-mississippi-river-ship-channel-air
- 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)

## Why it matters

Deeper draft lets larger vessels load more cargo at New Orleans, which can lower per-ton ocean freight costs for grain exports over time.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2020-09-16 | [Mississippi River Ship Channel Deepening to 50 Feet Begins \| Port NOLA](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50998-mississippi-river-ship-channel-deepening-to-50-feet-begins-port-nola.md) | +1.1% | +4.7% |
| CORN | 2026-05-26 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs For Farmers — Louisiana Farm Bureau News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16362-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers-louisiana.md) | -1.8% | -6.6% |
| CORN | 2022-12-23 | [What made the Black Sea a "leader" of freight rates decline? – BPG Shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38132-what-made-the-black-sea-a-leader-of-freight-rates-decline-bpg-shipping.md) | +2.1% | +2.2% |
| CORN | 2021-12-15 | [Corps is taking the deep route—Mississippi River channel to 50 ft - DredgeWire : DredgeWire](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16741-corps-is-taking-the-deep-route-mississippi-river-channel-to-50-ft-dredgewire.md) | -3.5% | +1.2% |
| CORN | 2024-04-05 | [Climate Variability Threatens Viability Of Mississippi River Ship Channel - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16549-climate-variability-threatens-viability-of-mississippi-river-ship-channel-the.md) | -2.2% | -0.4% |
| SOY | 2020-09-16 | [Mississippi River Ship Channel Deepening to 50 Feet Begins \| Port NOLA](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50998-mississippi-river-ship-channel-deepening-to-50-feet-begins-port-nola.md) | +2.8% | +5.3% |
| SOY | 2026-05-26 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs For Farmers — Louisiana Farm Bureau News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16362-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers-louisiana.md) | -0.4% | -5.3% |
| SOY | 2021-12-15 | [Corps is taking the deep route—Mississippi River channel to 50 ft - DredgeWire : DredgeWire](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16741-corps-is-taking-the-deep-route-mississippi-river-channel-to-50-ft-dredgewire.md) | +3.9% | +10.5% |

## Sources

- airfreight.news: https://airfreight.news/articles/full/louisiana-leaders-celebrate-deepening-of-the-mississippi-river-ship-channel

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