# Some Areas Along the Mississippi River Need a Tall Drink of Water

> Falling water levels on the Mississippi have exposed sandbars and led barge operators to cut drafts, with Ceres Barge Line trimming loads to 10 feet 6 inches. Shippers now need 18 barges instead of 17 for the same grain volume out of St. Louis. St. Louis river levels are forecast to fall toward 1 foot by mid-October.

- Date: 2020-10-05 · published 2020-10-05T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/50544-some-areas-along-the-mississippi-river-need-a-tall-drink-of-water
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Draft restrictions raise the cost of moving grain south from St. Louis, which widens basis discounts and reduces farm-gate prices. Freight rates are likely to rise while water stays low.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2022-10-21 | [Low Water And Mississippi River Drafts - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16676-low-water-and-mississippi-river-drafts-the-waterways-journal.md) | -0.7% | +1.8% |
| SOY | 2019-06-13 | [Shipping On The Mississippi River Should Pick Up Next Week - WPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58794-shipping-on-the-mississippi-river-should-pick-up-next-week-wpr.md) | +2.9% | +2.1% |
| SOY | 2024-08-28 | [Ep. 7 Low Water Levels on the Mississippi River: Not the Three-Peat We Want](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16514-ep-7-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-not-the-three-peat-we-want.md) | +4.0% | +8.9% |
| SOY | 2022-10-31 | [Low Water Levels in the Mississippi River Result in Abnormally Weak Soybean Basis](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39337-low-water-levels-in-the-mississippi-river-result-in-abnormally-weak-soybean.md) | +4.6% | +5.0% |
| SOY | 2023-08-28 | [Will It Be Deja Vu on the Lower Mississippi River This Fall?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/12855-will-it-be-deja-vu-on-the-lower-mississippi-river-this-fall.md) | -1.8% | -6.0% |
| CORN | 2022-10-21 | [Low Water And Mississippi River Drafts - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16676-low-water-and-mississippi-river-drafts-the-waterways-journal.md) | -0.9% | -1.4% |
| CORN | 2022-09-29 | [Low water on the Mississippi River impacting barge traffic \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16679-low-water-on-the-mississippi-river-impacting-barge-traffic-ap-news.md) | +1.7% | +4.0% |
| CORN | 2019-06-13 | [Shipping On The Mississippi River Should Pick Up Next Week - WPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58794-shipping-on-the-mississippi-river-should-pick-up-next-week-wpr.md) | +2.1% | +3.4% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/market-matters-blog/blog-post/2020/10/05/areas-along-mississippi-river-need
- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/Ag/blogs/market-matters-blog/blog-post/2020/10/05/areas-along-mississippi-river-need

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