# Snowmelt, Rain Wreak Havoc on US River Systems

> The upper Mississippi remains closed to barges while the Lake Pepin ice is still too thick to break through. High water is also disrupting traffic south to the Gulf, with Locks 16 through 22 expected to close and the Ohio River at Cairo above major flood stage. Grain and fertilizer movements for spring planting are being held up.

- Date: 2019-03-18 · published 2019-03-18T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/59987-snowmelt-rain-wreak-havoc-on-us-river-systems
- 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), [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md)

## Why it matters

Widespread river closures lift freight costs and delay fertilizer deliveries, while holding grain supplies back from export positions and weighing on Midwest cash prices.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2020-10-02 | [High Water Persists in Mississippi River System \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50542-high-water-persists-in-mississippi-river-system-feed-and-grain.md) | +2.6% | +2.8% |
| SOY | 2017-10-23 | [US River System Still Not Flowing Smoothly Amid Fall Harvest](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68348-us-river-system-still-not-flowing-smoothly-amid-fall-harvest.md) | -0.4% | +1.2% |
| SOY | 2017-12-05 | [Wooden Dams And River Jams Strain US Grain Exports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67382-wooden-dams-and-river-jams-strain-us-grain-exports.md) | -1.6% | -3.9% |
| SOY | 2023-04-27 | [Flooding on Upper Mississippi River to halt barge traffic for weeks, USDA says](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16633-flooding-on-upper-mississippi-river-to-halt-barge-traffic-for-weeks-usda-says.md) | +0.8% | -7.8% |
| SOY | 2026-01-29 | [Low Water on U.S. Rivers Disrupts Grain Exports, Raising Costs for Ag Supply Chains - Agrolatam](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16395-low-water-on-u-s-rivers-disrupts-grain-exports-raising-costs-for-ag-supply.md) | +1.6% | +6.8% |
| CORN | 2020-10-02 | [High Water Persists in Mississippi River System \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50542-high-water-persists-in-mississippi-river-system-feed-and-grain.md) | -1.1% | +5.3% |
| CORN | 2017-12-05 | [Wooden Dams And River Jams Strain US Grain Exports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67382-wooden-dams-and-river-jams-strain-us-grain-exports.md) | +2.8% | +5.6% |
| CORN | 2026-01-29 | [Low water on US rivers shifts some export paths \| World Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16393-low-water-on-us-rivers-shifts-some-export-paths-world-grain.md) | -0.3% | -0.1% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/market-matters-blog/blog-post/2019/03/18/snowmelt-rain-wreak-havoc-us-river
- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/columns/cash-market-moves/article/2019/03/18/snowmelt-rain-wreak-havoc-us-river

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