# Ag Shippers Relieved as Mississippi River Reopens | Red River Farm Network

> Grain shippers said the Mississippi River reopened to barge traffic on May 14 after a 48-hour closure near Memphis, with 62 vessels and over 1,000 barges queued. CHS said it had wheat barges stuck in the backlog and uses rail to move grain to St. Louis for barge transfer. The closure may recur when bridge construction begins.

- Date: 2021-05-14 · published 2021-05-14T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/47000-ag-shippers-relieved-as-mississippi-river-reopens-red-river-farm-network
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Wheat (SRW)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WHEAT.md)

## Why it matters

Reopening relieves the export bottleneck for wheat and other grains, but possible future closures keep freight risk elevated. Traders may hold a small premium for logistics risk.

## Read by commodity

- BARGE: bearish ▼
- WHEAT: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WHEAT | 2024-07-01 | [Red Sea conflict sets bomb ticking under Aussie ag shipping costs \| Farm Online \| ACT](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17019-red-sea-conflict-sets-bomb-ticking-under-aussie-ag-shipping-costs-farm-online.md) | +6.6% | -1.3% |
| WHEAT | 2016-11-02 | [Railways and Shippers at Odds Over Performance](https://feedsoft.ai/events/73856-railways-and-shippers-at-odds-over-performance.md) | +0.5% | -3.8% |
| WHEAT | 2021-04-29 | [GRAPHIC: A 40-year look at the busiest canal on the Mississippi River - Investigate Midwest](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47495-graphic-a-40-year-look-at-the-busiest-canal-on-the-mississippi-river.md) | -5.4% | -5.4% |
| WHEAT | 2018-04-24 | [Grain Shippers Welcome Action to Avoid Rail Work Stoppage](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65529-grain-shippers-welcome-action-to-avoid-rail-work-stoppage.md) | +3.4% | +2.8% |
| WHEAT | 2017-08-03 | [Sask. farmers hope to see Churchill port, rail line revived \| CBC News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69485-sask-farmers-hope-to-see-churchill-port-rail-line-revived-cbc-news.md) | -3.3% | -4.3% |

## Sources

- rrfn.com: https://www.rrfn.com/2021/05/14/agriculture-relieved-as-mississippi-river-reopens-for-barge-traffic/

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