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High water and strong currents on the lower Mississippi are slowing barge transit and cutting tow sizes from about 40 to 25-30 barges. A towboat crash near New Orleans and a temporary Coast Guard closure near Baton Rouge added to the disruption.
Further snowmelt is expected to slow traffic more, limiting grain shipments south and fertilizer shipments north.
Smaller tows and slower transit raise per-bushel freight costs and pressure farm-gate prices, while fertilizer delays can tighten supply for spring application.
startribune.comAdam BelzMar 16, 2019startribune.comAdam BelzMar 16, 2019After 297 past bearish logistics events, Soybeans moved a median +0.3% over 5 sessions (54% higher; middle half -1.5% to +1.8%), and +0.7% over 20.
After 359 past bearish logistics events, Corn moved a median -0.3% over 5 sessions (44% higher; middle half -1.5% to +1.5%), and -0.5% over 20.
Not enough comparable past events yet for a historical read.
After 49 past bullish logistics events, Urea moved a median -0.3% over 5 sessions (45% higher; middle half -1.3% to +2.2%), and -0.4% over 20.
Moves of each commodity's benchmark from the last close before the event. Historical reads pool past events of the same kind; they describe what happened, not what will. Not investment advice.
