# Swollen Upper Mississippi River Stalls Barge Traffic

> Heavy snowpack and spring runoff have pushed the Upper Mississippi at St. Paul into major flood stage, with a crest of 18.8 feet expected April 27. American Commercial Barge Line reported the river closed to barges from Meekers north to St. Paul, with locks 17 through 3 shut for 12 to 15 days.

- Date: 2023-04-24 · published 2023-04-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/36574-swollen-upper-mississippi-river-stalls-barge-traffic
- 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

Closed locks stop barge movement of grain from the Upper Midwest, widening the gap between river and rail prices and pressuring Gulf-bound corn and soybean meal flows, which can weigh on local cash bids and lift freight costs for feed buyers.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2023-04-28 | [Barge traffic stopped on upper Mississippi \| wqad.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36575-barge-traffic-stopped-on-upper-mississippi-wqad-com.md) | +0.5% | -2.3% |
| CORN | 2019-07-16 | [Record Flood-Stage Days Stymie Mississippi River Barge Traffic](https://feedsoft.ai/events/57962-record-flood-stage-days-stymie-mississippi-river-barge-traffic.md) | -2.3% | -9.8% |
| CORN | 2022-11-07 | [Mississippi River's Low Levels Causing Barge Traffic Issues](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10337-mississippi-river-s-low-levels-causing-barge-traffic-issues.md) | -0.7% | -5.4% |
| CORN | 2018-09-26 | [Barge Breakaway Halts Mississippi River Traffic North](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62915-barge-breakaway-halts-mississippi-river-traffic-north.md) | -0.2% | -0.1% |
| CORN | 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) | -0.9% | -4.0% |
| SOY | 2023-04-28 | [Barge traffic stopped on upper Mississippi \| wqad.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36575-barge-traffic-stopped-on-upper-mississippi-wqad-com.md) | +1.5% | -7.2% |
| SOY | 2019-07-16 | [Record Flood-Stage Days Stymie Mississippi River Barge Traffic](https://feedsoft.ai/events/57962-record-flood-stage-days-stymie-mississippi-river-barge-traffic.md) | -1.5% | -4.5% |
| SOY | 2022-11-07 | [Mississippi River's Low Levels Causing Barge Traffic Issues](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10337-mississippi-river-s-low-levels-causing-barge-traffic-issues.md) | +0.3% | -0.9% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/market-matters-blog/blog-post/2023/04/24/swollen-upper-mississippi-river

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