# Barge Rates Decline, Spurring Basis at River Terminals | Feed & Grain

> Barge freight rates fell sharply across the river system, with the St. Louis rate down 19% in the latest week. Soybean basis at river terminals improved by about 11 cents, while corn basis improved only about a cent as weak export demand limited its response.

- Date: 2020-10-02 · published 2020-10-02T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/50834-barge-rates-decline-spurring-basis-at-river-terminals-feed-and-grain
- 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

Cheaper barge transport lifts the bids terminals can pay farmers, which supports soybean basis and lowers the cost of moving grain to the Gulf. Weak corn export demand is keeping corn basis from responding to the lower freight.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2025-04-10 | [Soybean barge basis firm on river shipping delays](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16455-soybean-barge-basis-firm-on-river-shipping-delays.md) | +2.6% | +2.4% |
| SOY | 2018-10-10 | [Excessive Rain Disrupts US River Barge Shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62422-excessive-rain-disrupts-us-river-barge-shipping.md) | +2.5% | +1.0% |
| SOY | 2017-05-09 | [WEEKLY GRAIN MOVEMENT: High water, closed rives halt barge movement](https://feedsoft.ai/events/70893-weekly-grain-movement-high-water-closed-rives-halt-barge-movement.md) | +0.9% | -3.4% |
| SOY | 2022-06-29 | [Argentine trucker protest slashes grains delivery, threatening exports and milling \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14024-argentine-trucker-protest-slashes-grains-delivery-threatening-exports-and.md) | -5.0% | -5.1% |
| SOY | 2021-08-30 | [Hurricane Ida damages Louisiana grain terminal, disrupts exports \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45732-hurricane-ida-damages-louisiana-grain-terminal-disrupts-exports-reuters.md) | -5.6% | -5.3% |
| CORN | 2020-10-02 | [River Woes Push Basis Lower \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50835-river-woes-push-basis-lower-feed-and-grain.md) | -1.1% | +5.3% |
| CORN | 2023-05-01 | [USDA: Grain barge delays from Mississippi flooding \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16625-usda-grain-barge-delays-from-mississippi-flooding-feed-and-grain.md) | +0.3% | -1.8% |
| CORN | 2026-02-20 | [2025 barge grain movements rise despite weather challenges on Mississippi River System \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16383-2025-barge-grain-movements-rise-despite-weather-challenges-on-mississippi-river.md) | +1.4% | +8.9% |

## Sources

- feedandgrain.com: https://www.feedandgrain.com/events/event-calendar/blog/15401590/barge-rates-decline-spurring-basis-at-river-terminals

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