# Soaring Cost of River Freight Hits Ag | Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association

> Low Mississippi River levels and aging lock backlogs slowed barge traffic and pushed Midwest-to-Gulf hauling costs near record highs. Newly harvested corn and soybeans are piling up in storage, and cash soybean premiums at large river terminals fell to their lowest since at least 2011.

- Date: 2017-10-10 · published 2017-10-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/6121-soaring-cost-of-river-freight-hits-ag-farm-equipment-manufacturers-association
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Freight bottlenecks trap supply inland, which depresses local cash bids and premiums even as export costs rise. Buyers may see cheaper inland soybeans and corn, while logistics costs keep export netbacks under pressure.

## Read by commodity

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

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BARGE | 2017-10-10 | 1 | -50.9% | -5.4 | Dated the same day as the move, it describes record-high river freight tied to low water and lock backlogs; this shows an elevated rate level that was likely to mean-revert, but it does not explain a 51% one-day drop. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2017-10-03 | [Soaring river freight hits U.S. farmers - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7541-soaring-river-freight-hits-u-s-farmers-grainews.md) | +1.0% | +1.6% |
| SOY | 2024-02-01 | [Low River Levels are Creating Higher Costs for Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16570-low-river-levels-are-creating-higher-costs-for-farmers.md) | -2.7% | -7.7% |
| SOY | 2025-09-25 | [Restrictions, Freight Costs Pressure Grain Movement on the Mississippi River - RFD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16424-restrictions-freight-costs-pressure-grain-movement-on-the-mississippi-river-rfd.md) | +0.4% | +2.6% |
| SOY | 2022-09-30 | [Low River Levels, Soaring Barge Freight Curb U.S. Grain Exports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16682-low-river-levels-soaring-barge-freight-curb-u-s-grain-exports.md) | -3.7% | -2.0% |
| SOY | 2024-10-24 | [Low Mississippi River levels during harvest cut profits for farmers, freighters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28043-low-mississippi-river-levels-during-harvest-cut-profits-for-farmers-freighters.md) | -2.1% | -0.7% |
| CORN | 2017-10-03 | [Soaring river freight hits U.S. farmers - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7541-soaring-river-freight-hits-u-s-farmers-grainews.md) | -0.7% | -1.5% |
| CORN | 2024-02-01 | [Low River Levels are Creating Higher Costs for Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16570-low-river-levels-are-creating-higher-costs-for-farmers.md) | -4.7% | -6.6% |
| CORN | 2025-09-25 | [Restrictions, Freight Costs Pressure Grain Movement on the Mississippi River - RFD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16424-restrictions-freight-costs-pressure-grain-movement-on-the-mississippi-river-rfd.md) | -2.5% | -1.8% |

## Sources

- farmequip.org: https://www.farmequip.org/shortliner/soaring-cost-of-river-freight-hits-ag/

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