# Canadian lock strike creates another ag shipping problem - Brownfield Ag News

> The 360-member Unifor strike idled 13 Canadian locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the closure also compounds low Mississippi River water levels. Soy Transportation Coalition's Mike Steenhoek said the Seaway handles about 1% of soybean shipments, and offloading ships to rail to bypass the locks is expensive.

- Date: 2023-10-24 · published 2023-10-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/33670-canadian-lock-strike-creates-another-ag-shipping-problem-brownfield-ag-news
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Stacked disruptions on the Seaway and the Mississippi raise US export logistics costs and push some grain onto rail, which pressures soybean basis and freight rates.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2024-10-16 | [Poor timing of low Mississippi River levels - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28040-poor-timing-of-low-mississippi-river-levels-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +0.1% | +1.3% |
| SOY | 2026-01-27 | [Low water levels slowing grain flow down Mississippi River - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16391-low-water-levels-slowing-grain-flow-down-mississippi-river-brownfield-ag-news.md) | -0.1% | +7.3% |
| SOY | 2025-10-15 | [Low Mississippi River levels threaten fall grain movement - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16417-low-mississippi-river-levels-threaten-fall-grain-movement-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +2.4% | +10.6% |
| SOY | 2018-01-30 | [River ice is impeding movement of soybeans and putting pressure on local prices - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67159-river-ice-is-impeding-movement-of-soybeans-and-putting-pressure-on-local-prices.md) | -2.2% | +4.7% |
| SOY | 2017-10-03 | [River issues slow barge traffic - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68665-river-issues-slow-barge-traffic-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +1.0% | +1.6% |

## Sources

- brownfieldagnews.com: https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/canadian-lock-strike-creates-another-ag-shipping-problem/

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