# River Transport News publisher addresses issues facing river barge industry - FreightWaves

> River Transport News publisher Sandor Toth discussed challenges facing the U.S. barge industry, which moves over 600 million tons of products annually. He noted coal barge shipments have fallen from 160 million tons to under 90 million tons as low natural gas prices close coal plants.

- Date: 2019-10-23 · published 2019-10-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/56461-river-transport-news-publisher-addresses-issues-facing-river-barge-industry
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Natural Gas](https://feedsoft.ai/c/NATGAS.md)

## Why it matters

Lower coal volumes reduce barge demand and utilization, which can weigh on barge freight rates that affect grain movement costs. The effect on grain prices is indirect.

## Read by commodity

- BARGE: bearish ▼
- NATGAS: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NATGAS | 2022-11-14 | [U.S. natgas up 1% after paring gains on Texas Freeport LNG delay rumors \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38855-u-s-natgas-up-1-after-paring-gains-on-texas-freeport-lng-delay-rumors-reuters.md) | +16.7% | +25.3% |
| NATGAS | 2019-06-01 | [Liquefied natural gas imports limited price spikes in New England this winter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59267-liquefied-natural-gas-imports-limited-price-spikes-in-new-england-this-winter.md) | -5.5% | -6.3% |
| NATGAS | 2024-11-12 | [Panama Canal says trade rebound is underway after record drought](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16987-panama-canal-says-trade-rebound-is-underway-after-record-drought.md) | +32.3% | +61.1% |
| NATGAS | 2017-08-10 | [From Natural Gas Pipeline to Grain Trade, US and Mexico Feed Each Other](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69424-from-natural-gas-pipeline-to-grain-trade-us-and-mexico-feed-each-other.md) | +2.4% | +5.0% |
| NATGAS | 2026-10-08 | [European Natural Gas Prices Defy Rebound in Middle Eastern LNG Shipments](https://feedsoft.ai/events/629-european-natural-gas-prices-defy-rebound-in-middle-eastern-lng-shipments.md) | +0.2% | -10.6% |

## Sources

- freightwaves.com: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/river-transport-news-publisher-addresses-issues-facing-river-barge-industry

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