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Flexport explains that the US has over 25,000 miles of navigable waterways, but the Mississippi carries much less general cargo than in Asia and Europe. It attributes this to the Jones Act, which requires domestic waterborne cargo to move on US-owned, US-crewed, US-built vessels.
The restriction limits barge supply through higher vessel costs and a small pool of qualified mariners.
Limited barge capacity under Jones Act constraints keeps domestic freight costs high and pushes more cargo onto rail and trucks. This is a structural cost factor for grain and feed shipments, though it does not move prices directly.
flexport.comFlexport EditorialApr 5, 2022Not enough comparable past events yet for a historical read.
Moves of each commodity's benchmark from the last close before the event. Historical reads pool past events of the same kind; they describe what happened, not what will. Not investment advice.
